Pandora- The children are in danger. Can they sav

[mcharmed21]

Author: Nat365

Pandora

What’s been happening: The girls’ lives have changed a lot since we last met them. Piper has two children, Wyatt and Prudence, who are 14 and 12. However, they are both known by their second names, Matthew and Melinda, Melinda because of the significance of her first, and Matthew because when he got old enough, he decided that he preferred to go by his second name. Phoebe is happily married to a mortal named Jack Martinez. They had some problems once he found out she was a witch, but they worked through them, married, and have a five-year-old daughter named Penny. They live about a mile away from Halliwell manor. Paige is happy at the moment, but it took her a long time to get over her failed marriage. She married a man named Michael, but once he found out she was a witch; he left her, knowing she was pregnant. Her son is now three years old, and is named Glen Samuel. When Michael left her, she moved back in with Piper and Leo, and they helped to take care of Glen through Paige’s divorce and her depression after it. If it weren’t for her sisters she would never have made it through. Phoebe helped to cheer her up, and Piper reminded her she had a son who needed her. All the adults agreed to bind their children’s powers until each of them reached the age of twelve. When Matthew reached twelve, after his powers were revealed to him, he would have had to keep them secret from his sister for two years. He found it hard, though he knew it was for her own protection, but Melinda knew that he was keeping something from her, and the secret began to tear them apart. Eventually, after a short while, Piper and Leo decided that it was more important to keep the pair together than to “protect” Melinda from her powers, and as girls mature earlier than boys anyway, everything was revealed and Melinda and Matthew grew close again. Their two cousins, however, do not have their powers. The four children are often left together with Jack, though Matthew constantly tells them that he is old enough and powerful enough to protect the younger children, though he knows Melinda is capable of taking care of herself, and Melinda wants to go demon hunting with her brother and mom. Both children can shield themselves, and have learnt to control it, rather than it being a reflex, as if any of them shields at school, if someone chucks something at them, their secret is blown. Leo had to use memory dust more than once when their shields accidentally flared. They can also both orb. Melinda inherited her mother’s freezing power and Matthew can use telekinesis the same way Prue could, and the same way Paige can. The children as yet have not developed any other powers, apart from the whitelighter power of hovering.


Story:

“Melinda, Matthew, hurry up, or you’ll be late for school” Piper called up the stairs to her two children.
“Shh, Piper!” Paige scolded, “You’ll wake Glen!”<br>“Shouldn’t he be up by now?” Piper asked, “You can’t let him sleep in all the time, he’ll be starting school soon.”<br>“I know,” Paige replied, “but he’s tired, poor kid.”<br>“Leo wiped his memory of the attack?”<br>“All of it. I’ll be glad when he finally knows everything.”<br>“Everything? Come on Paige, you can’t tell me you don’t want him to stay little and innocent as long as possible? Matthew, Melinda!”<br>“Coming mom!” Melinda called back down the stairs, appearing at the top a moment later. Her brother quickly followed her.
“Quick, quick, quick, we’re already late!”<br>They all piled into the car, and Piper sped out the driveway.
“Now listen you guys, you’re both going over to Aunt Phoebe’s later with your cousin and staying with your Uncle Jack”<br>“You guys are going hunting for the demon that showed up last night aren’t you?” Matthew asked.
“Yes,” Piper replied, “and I want both you two and your cousins to stay at Aunt Phoebe’s house with your uncle until we all get back. Promise me.”<br>“Why can’t we go?” protested Melinda, “We’re powerful enough, we could help.”<br>“Melinda,” warned Matthew quietly, knowing how sensitive his mother was about the children hunting and killing demons.
“Matthew, Melinda, I know how keen you both are about going demon hunting, but it’s too dangerous for kids to be doing it, even if you have powers.” She added, seeing them both open their mouths in protest. “And you are both children at the end of the day, no matter how grown up you feel, or how mature you act. And I need you to be mature now, and stay and look after your younger cousins. Now,” she said, business like, “promise me you will not leave Aunt Phoebe’s, that you will take care of each other, and,” here she paused, “that you will do all your homework.”<br>“Aw mom!”<br>
Kay was feeling frustrated. Degal was late, and he was getting impatient. He began to pace, just as Degal shimmered in behind him.
“Well, anything to report?” Kay barked.
“The children have gone to school. The Charmed Ones,” Degal spat the hated name, “will be coming after me tonight.”<br>“Now,” said Kay, “you and I well know the law against harming the boy but,” and here a slow smile crossed his face, “there is nothing written about the girl, and she is almost as powerful as her brother.”<br>“Almost, but not quite.”<br>“Well, that is of no matter, we will soon have him as well.”<br>“How?”<br>“You have the nerve to ask me what my plans are?!?!?” Kay asked, livid, grabbing Degal by the throat. Then his rage was gone as quickly as it had come. “I will forgive your impertinence, you will find out soon enough anyway.” Then Kay began to laugh. Degal was not an easily shaken demon, but the sound of that laugh sent shivers down his spine.

Phoebe was heading off to work, but first she wanted to say goodbye to her husband and daughter.
“Mommy, mommy, mommy!” The force of Penny’s hug almost knocked Phoebe over.
“Hey kiddo!” Phoebe said, “Ready for school?”<br>“Mom, I can’t go to school today.”<br>“Oh, what’s wrong?”<br>“I have sleep depravation and multiple fractures.”
“I think someone has been in Daddy’s files again.” Said Jack, strolling in from the bedroom and giving Phoebe a kiss.
“Hey you.” Phoebe replied, grinning. She loved her family more than anything else. “So how’s Dr. Martinez this morning?” She asked her husband.
“Better now I’ve seen you.”<br>“Haven’t you already used that line yesterday?”<br>“So I’ve heard.” He turned to his daughter. “Come on Penny, school time.”<br>“Bye mommy.” Penny planted a kiss on her mother’s cheek and headed out the door with her dad.
“See you guys later.” Phoebe called.
“Alligator.” Penny called back.

[mcharmed21]

Paige sat on the sofa with both the men in her life. “Hey dad, how come I haven’t seen you lately?”<br>“I’ve been busy. One of my… friends got himself into a bit of trouble with a…nasty guy ” Sam was trying to tell Paige about a charge who’d got caught up with a demon without his grandson knowing.
“And I suppose you want some expert help?” Paige asked.
“Mommy, what nasty guy?” Glen asked.
“Oh, no one you need to worry about honey. You’ll be staying at Aunt Phoebe’s and Uncle Jack’s tonight.”<br>“Yay!” Glen loved staying with his Uncle Jack.
“You know if you want, I could look after him for you.”<br>“Oh daddy, that’s sweet, but you know Jack can take care of most things.”<br>“But Jack is a…” a look from Paige warned him not to continue with the sentence and say Jack is just a mortal. “He doesn’t have any special gifts.”<br>“Alright then.” Paige agreed, “But don’t underestimate Jack. Phoebe’s taught him how to fight, and he loves the kids.”<br>“I know, but this is more serious than you girls realise, and he wont be able to handle it on his own.”<br>Paige decided to end the conversation. “Dad, why don’t you take Glen to the park? There’s not much for him to do here, and when he gets bored, he gets up to no good.”<br>“Yeah granddad, I wanna go to the park.” Glen chimed in.
“Ok then.” Her father consented. “Paige, why don’t you come along?”<br>“I have to get to work, remember? Someone has to get food for this little guy, he eats a ton!”<br>“No I don’t!” Her son protested.
“Come on kid, we’re gong to the park.” Said Sam, getting off the sofa.
“Can we go on the swings?”<br>“We can do whatever you want little man, within reason. Bye Paige. Say bye to your mom Glen.”<br>“Bye mommy.”<br>“See you later. Be good.”<br>“I will!” Joked her dad, knowing she was talking to her son.

Melinda was searching the school for her brother. As she looked around, she saw him across the other side of the yard.
“Matthew, Jenny’s not here.”<br>“I’ve been looking for you. Neither’s Simon.”<br>“I spoke to Jenny on the phone yesterday, she seemed fine.”<br>“And you know I was hanging out with Simon and the guys all yesterday afternoon.”<br>“Something’s wrong, I know it.”<br>“Come on, maybe they’re just sick and we’re over reacting.”<br>“Yeah, maybe.” But Melinda still felt uneasy.
The end of the day came, and the kids called home on Matthew’s cell.
“Hey mom, it’s me… No, nothing’s wrong, we just thought we’d phone to tell you we’re orbing home… Yes I know you like picking us up… No it won’t look suspicious, we’ll just tell people we’re taking the bus… Yes, ok… yes we’ll be home soon…ok… love you too, bye.” He put down the phone and turned to Melinda. “Mom says it’s fine if we orb, as long as we’re home straight away. No delaying.”<br>“Ok then, let’s get round the corner and go.”<br>When the kids got home, they sensed the tension in the air, and decided not to mention their worry about their friends just yet. They still thought it might be nothing. However, their instincts had never led them wrong before.
“Come on Melinda, let’s go upstairs, they obviously don’t want to be disturbed.” However, Leo spotted the pair and called them down again.
“Kids, come down here, we need to talk about something.”<br>Warily, Matthew and Melinda headed downstairs.
“Well, don’t you have a hug for your mom?” Piper asked jokingly. Her children ran and threw their arms around her.
“What about dear old dad?” Chimed in Leo, “I haven’t seen you guys since the day before yesterday.”<br>“How could we forget you dad?” asked Melinda lovingly, and she and Matthew went and hugged him too. Just at that moment, Phoebe walked through the door. She had kept her keys to the manor, and both Piper and Paige had a set of keys to her apartment too.
“Anybody home?” she called.
“Aunt Phoebe!” Cried Melinda, and she and Matthew rushed to greet her.
“Whoa, steady there guys, you almost knocked me over!”<br>“Hey Pheebs.” Said Piper, walking into the hall with Leo.
“So, we ready to kick some major demon ass?” Phoebe asked.
“Anyone who shouts that loud must be my other sister.” Came Paige’s voice from upstairs. “I mean the one who doesn’t live with me.” She added, coming down. “So Phoebe, to what do we owe the honour?”<br>“I need a hug from my sisters.” Her sisters gave it willingly. “And my brother in law. Come on Leo, join in.” Leo put his arms around the group.
“Hey, can anybody have a go?” asked Matthew.
“How could we forget you guys?” asked Paige, pulling them in.
“Now all we’re missing is the bear.” Quipped Phoebe.
“Bear?” asked Leo, puzzled.
“You know, bear, bear hug. Oh forget it.” She said, seeing the group staring at her.
“Anyway, let’s get down to business.” Piper said, “By the way Paige, wasn’t your dad dropping around today.”<br>“Yeah, he took Glen to the park. He’s also offered to help look after the kids at your place, Phoebe, while we’re out demon hunting.”<br>“Oh, that’s sweet Paige, but Jack can handle it.” Said Phoebe. “Besides, we have the protection spell round my place.”<br>“Phoebe, dad said this demon is one of the most powerful ever to appear since we vanquished the source. Rumour is he’s looking to become the source. We haven’t faced down a demon like this in a long time. And at the end of the day, Jack is still just a mortal.”<br>“Yes Paige, but I have taught him self defence. You know, I never had an active power when I first started out, and I did just fine with martial arts.”<br>“Guys, we don’t need to be arguing right now.” Intervened Piper. “Personally, no offence to Jack, but I would feel better if Sam was there Phoebe. Especially if this demon is as powerful as he says it is.”<br>“Fine then,” said Phoebe, a little peeved that her sisters, in her view, didn’t trust her husband to take care of their kids.
As if she knew what Phoebe was thinking, Piper added, “Phoebe, you know we trust Jack, and he’s taken care of the kids during demon hunting loads of times. It’s just he’s never fended off a really powerful demon before. This guy might be able to break the protection spell round your place.” She turned and looked at her children. “Kids, will you go upstairs please?” Matthew and Melinda knew better than to argue. They were surprised they had been allowed to hear as much as they did.
As they went upstairs, they discussed what had been said.
“A demon almost as powerful as the source.” Melinda said to Matthew, “That’s huge!”<br>“I bet we could take him!” Matthew said, fiercely.
“Why do you think he’s after The Charmed Ones” Melinda asked. (It was easier for the pair to just say The Charmed Ones, when talking about magic, rather than ‘our Mom and aunts’)
“You know the stories mom and dad told us about just after ‘The Charmed Ones’ had vanquished the source? They said killing ‘The Charmed Ones’ meant direct ascension to the throne. Maybe that rule still applies.”<br>“Maybe, but I don’t think so. The demon seems to have gone out of his way to get them to attack him. That’s not what normally happens. We were there at the first attack, and he didn’t seem to actually want to hurt us, just to scare. And he got out of there real fast the moment mom and Aunt Paige came along.”<br>“Yeah, he didn’t seem to have any particular goal.”<br>“But mom and the others have been doing this kind of stuff for a long time, I’m pretty sure they’ll do what’s best.”<br>“Uh huh, we should stay out of it.”<br>
Later that evening, everyone piled into the car to go to Phoebe’s.
“I don’t get why we can’t all use our teleporting powers.” Said Matthew, “Mom, you have that thing where you can decompose in one place and reappear in another, you know, like you’ve blown yourself up.”<br>“Can we not say decompose, Matthew honey, I am not a compost heap.”<br>“And all the rest of us can orb.” Continued Matthew, ignoring her.
“Shh!” said Paige, “Glen is in here!”<br>“He’s asleep, Aunt Paige.” Said Melinda, taking her brother’s corner. She knew how defensive her Aunt was about her son hearing magic talk.
“Even Aunt Phoebe’s got the ability to fly and be invisible, so no one would see her if she flew back.” Matthew continued.
“But she drove here, so she needs to get the car back. Trust me kids, magic shouldn’t be used just for anything.” Leo said. “It’s a gift, and shouldn’t be taken for granted.
“Even so…”

[mcharmed21]

“Matthew, we are taking the car, so be quiet.” Piper ordered.
Matthew folded his arms in a huff and the rest of the journey was relatively silent.
“Don’t worry about mom, Matt,” said Melinda, “she’s just a bit tense about this demon. They all are.”<br>“You be good, kids.” called Piper from the car, “Paige, come on!”
Paige was talking to her son, trying to pry him off her.
“Glenny, you need to stay here, you can’t go with mommy.”<br>“Nooo, I want my mommy!” he cried.
Paige decided to be firm. “Glen, you are staying here with Grandpa and Uncle Jack.” And she walked off, leaving Glen crying. Phoebe got out of her car to say goodbye to her daughter.
“It’s not fair!” said Penny.
“I know sweetie, but I have to go. I promise I’ll make it up to you.”<br>“Bye.” Penny said miserably, not looking at her mother. Sighing, Phoebe went to Piper’s car and got in. They all waved, then they were gone.
“Hey little man!” said Sam, trying to cheer his grandson up, “Let’s go inside now.”<br>“Come on honey,” Jack said to his daughter, “mommy wont be gone too long.”<br>
Two hours later, Jack decided the kids should eat, and offered to go round the corner for pizzas.
“Wouldn’t it be easier to just order them in?” asked Sam.
“They charge extra for delivery, and the place is just around the corner. I won’t be gone long.” Then Jack headed out the door.
“Well,” said Sam, “My grandson is out for the count, and so is Penny. I think I’ll have a little rest too.” And with that, Sam fell asleep on the sofa.
Matthew and Melinda headed into the kitchen. Melinda poured herself a glass of water, and turned to her brother.
“Matthew, I’m really worried, they’ve never been gone this long before.”<br>“They’ve never fought a demon like this before, well, not for a while anyway. Don’t worry, they’ll be back soon.” Suddenly, they heard a thump and a loud yell. Fear and panic shot through them, and they raced into the living room. They found Sam on the floor, shot with a darklighter arrow.
“The kids” he gasped. Matthew and Melinda raced into the room where their cousins were sleeping. They found two demons and a darklighter. Each demon was holding a crying child. The darklighter fired at the kids, and the arrow split into two. They both shielded, and the arrows shattered. But the shot was only a distraction. It had given the other demons time to make their escape.
“NO!” Melinda cried. Matthew sent the darklighter flying. He hit the wall and was knocked unconscious. Melinda froze him to make doubly sure he wouldn’t wake up.
“Melinda, orb to the book, and look up the spell to vanquish a darklighter. Hurry!” Melinda orbed out, and orbed back with the book. Together, the children flicked through it until they came to the darklighter page.
“It says we need the power of three for this type of darklighter!” Melinda said despairingly. Then they heard a moan.
“Sam!” they both cried, and rushed into the other room.
“We need to heal him.” Though both children had been able to heal from the womb, they hadn’t been able to heal when they came into their powers, and were still unable. The adults put this down to the healing working through Piper, and since they were out of her, they could no longer do it. But Leo was confident that his children would gain the ability to heal as their powers grew.
First Matthew, then Melinda tried, but it didn’t work.
“Maybe if we do it together.” They both held their hands above Sam’s wound, and it healed. Sam woke with a start.
“The kids!”
“The demons took them. It was all our fault.” Said Matthew, looking as guilty as he felt.
“Yeah,” said Melinda, feeling just as bad, “we could’ve stopped them.”<br>“But the children are alive?”<br>“Yes, but the demons…”
“The most important thing is that they are alive, which means there is a chance to save them. It’s not your fault kids. Now, I’m going to have to orb to your parents. Will you be ok here?”<br>“Yeah, we’ll be fine.” Sam orbed off, and the pair was left alone.

Leo and The Charmed Ones had been looking for the demon for the past two hours with no success. Just as they were about to give up and head for home, Sam orbed in.
“Dad, what…”
“The children have been kidnapped.”<br>“What?” asked Piper, hardly believing what she was hearing.
“Not yours Piper, they’re ok, the other two. Penny and my little grandson.”<br>Paige stood there in shock. Phoebe collapsed onto Piper. “No, oh no, no, no.” she moaned.
“We have to get back, now!” Sam commanded. “There’s still a darklighter in the house, Melinda’s got it frozen, but it wont last much longer and they need the power of three to kill it. Phoebe, you should travel with one of us rather than fly, it takes too long.” Phoebe barely heard him, but nevertheless, she held Leo’s arm. Then the group all transported out.

Matthew and Melinda were waiting anxiously for the adults. Melinda had been crying. The group all transported in just as the darklighter unfroze, however, they didn’t notice. Piper and Leo went straight over to their children, and hugged them. They both collapsed into floods of tears.
“Mom, it was all our fault, we could have stopped them.”<br>“No you couldn’t.” the darklighter said from behind, and fired. The arrow split five ways, one for each member of the room with whitelighter blood. Matthew rushed to Sam and Paige, and Melinda stayed with her dad. Their shields flared and encompassed the others as well. Phoebe’s electricity shot out of her hands. They all expected it to stun the darklighter, and Melinda rushed to the book to get the spell that would finish him off, but she didn’t need it. The electricity killed him.
“Wow, I guess you must have been pretty angry.” Said Paige, laughing slightly, then collapsing into tears. Just then Jack walked through the door. Without even asking for an explanation, he dropped the pizzas, walked across the room and hugged his wife, who was also crying. Sam wrapped his arms around Paige, and Piper and Leo held their children close.

It was about an hour later. Everyone was back at the manor, and trying to think of a way to rescue the children. They had looked in The Book of Shadows to try and identify the other demon, but had no luck. Just then, Leo orbed back down from being ‘up there’, looking grave.
“The Elders think the other demon is even more powerful than the one we were looking for in the first place. They also think it is a very likely possibility that…” here he paused and took a deep breath, “the demons also have your friends.” He said. His children had informed the adults of both their best friends mysterious disappearing acts.
“So what do we do?” asked Paige.
“If they’re kidnapping, not killing, then they want something.” Said Piper, “The question is, what?”<br>
Kay and Degal were looking at their prizes with glee.
“This’ll have The Charmed Ones and their families in a panic, and no mistake.” Degal crowed.
“How you got to your level in the hierarchy I don’t know.” Kay complained, “That is the whole point!”<br>Penny was trying to comfort Glen, through her own tears.
“I want my mom!” He wailed.
“Shut up!” screamed Kay, “I can’t hear myself think with all that racket!”<br>Simon and Jenny spoke up.
“If you let us comfort them, maybe we can calm them down a bit.”<br>“Yeah, they’re just kids, they’re scared stiff.” They had both worked out the demons wouldn’t hurt them, yet.
“You have the nerve…” Degal formed an energy ball, and was at once knocked back by one thrown at him by Kay.
“We need the friends you dolt!” He growled angrily, “And it’s not such a bad idea anyway. Put them all in the same cage.”<br>Grumbling, Degal did as he was told.
“Why do we still need the friends? I thought they were just insurance in case we didn’t get the witches’ little brats?”<br>“We need them to trade for the girl. It’s time for phase two. Get the girl’s friend out.”<br>Degal grabbed Jenny’s arm and dragged her out of the cage. Meanwhile, Simon tried to comfort Penny and Glen.
“Let’s go.” Kay commanded, and the pair shimmered out.

[mcharmed21]

Melinda was up in her room. It was late, and the she and Matthew had been sent to bed, though how they were supposed to sleep through this was beyond her. Suddenly, she sensed that someone else was in the room with her, and not a good someone. She opened her mouth to call for help, and a cold sweaty demon hand was placed over it. She orbed away and was about to call again, when the lights were flicked on. She saw the two demons that attacked earlier, and one of them had Jenny by the throat.
“You yell, and I’ll snap her neck.” Said Kay menacingly. “Open the box, Degal.” Degal opened a metal box, about 30cm by 30. “Now, if you are a good little witch, and orb into the box quietly, we’ll leave your friend here as a message. If you don’t, well, you get the idea.”<br>“Let her go, and I’ll go with you.”<br>“Melinda no, they’re not human!” yelled Jenny.
“Shut up!” said Degal, but it was too late. Footsteps could be heard running to the bedroom. The door burst open just as Degal threw Jenny down, and Melinda orbed into the box. Jenny’s jaw dropped as she saw.
“No!” Piper yelled, and lunged for Kay, who had the box. He threw her back, and the demons shimmered out.

Piper was sobbing into Leo’s chest. “What do they want? Why have they done this?” Matthew was severely shaken. He hadn’t said a word since his sister had been taken. Jenny too was silent, trying to understand all she’d been told. It had been Jack who had explained to her about magic, and about who each member of the family was, Charmed Ones, whitelighters, her best friend and her brother, their cousins. She had known nothing, now she knew everything, and she didn’t know what she thought about it all. Suddenly, a slab of rock flew through the window, almost hitting Piper. Paige, Phoebe, Sam and Jack came running in from the other room.
“What was that?” Phoebe asked, panicked.
“It’s a message.” Piper replied. She began to read it.
“As you may know, we have your children, Charmed Ones. Young Matthew, we have your sister and your best friend. If you want no harm to come to your loved ones you will cooperate with us. Our demands are simple.
1. I want your help in becoming the next Source, and the return of the Grimoire. My name is Kay, and I am…”
Piper stopped at a gasp from Leo. “What is it?” She asked, panicking.
“We thought Kay was dead, or just a legend.”<br>“Leo, tell us what you know.” That was Paige.
“Kay was one of the most powerful demons the world had ever seen. He ruled the underworld for longer than any other demon in history. Then he just vanished. But it was so long ago, not even demons know if he ever really existed.”<br>Everyone took a moment to digest this news, and then Piper read on.
“I am the grandson of the legendary leader of the underworld, the one who was thought to have died with no legitimate heir. Well now I am ready to take over again, and I need the Grimoire to do it.
2. I want you to make me immune to your Source vanquishing spell. It is very important you use no trickery, but actually fulfil this request.
If you comply with these two demands Simon, Penny and young Glen will be returned to you, safe and sound.
3. Matthew must join the dark side and serve me, of his own free will, or he will never see his sister again.”<br>
Piper dropped the stone tablet, and it shattered.
“He can’t… Oh God, no!”<br>Leo was finding it hard to breathe. “They can’t make us choose between our children.”<br>“You’re right dad,” Matthew spoke up, “this is my choice, not yours.”<br>“Please Matthew,” pleaded his mother, “don’t choose now. We should do one and two first, get the others back.”<br>“Don’t you care what happens to Melinda?” Matthew screamed, “They could be hurting her! We don’t know what they’re doing to her!”<br>“Matthew!” Yelled Leo. “I forbid you to speak to your mother like that, and I forbid you to join evil!”<br>“I don’t care whether you forbid me or not, I’m going to do what it takes to save Melinda!”<br>Leo calmed down, and tried to reason with his son. “Matthew, you have no idea of the magnitude of your power to come. If you join evil, you could end up obliterating good, for eternity.”<br>Matthew sat down and let his father’s words sink in.
“Wait,” said Piper, “there’s something written on the back.” Leo healed the stone and Piper read the rest of the message.
“The box we have Melinda in is orb proof and sensing proof. None of you will be able to sense her, and she will not be able to reform, or orb out. The box cannot be opened by good. Only evil has the power to open it, so even if you find us and rescue the children, (which is unlikely), you will be unable to open the box and let her out.
“She’s trapped in there. Our baby girl is trapped, and we can’t save her.”<br>

[mcharmed21]

“The box, now, that was genius, pure and simple.” Kay was admiring his handiwork. “It’s just a shame we can’t see the look of terror on the little brat’s face! Oh well, the fear in the other’s eyes will just have to do.”<br>“Kay, where did you get that box?” Degal was wondering how Kay had come by such an invention. Kay sighed impatiently.
“Degal, if I told you that you would be able to get one, and my supplier wouldn’t like that. He wouldn’t like you.”<br>“I’m as powerful a demon as any! I’m upper level, yet you treat me like a common bounty hunter!”<br>“Care to challenge me?” Kay asked, menacingly.
Degal suddenly remembered to whom he was talking. “Of course not, my lord, sorry for my impertinence.” He was not used to being a subordinate, usually he was the one giving the orders. But with Kay, all the rules changed. Everyone was a subordinate, or everyone was dead.
“The rest of the plan is simple,” Kay told him, “we wait.”<br>
It was the next day, and Phoebe was pacing up and down the living room, trying to think clearly. Piper had completely broken down over the events, but Phoebe felt the only way she could keep control of the situation was to keep control of her emotions. Just at that moment, Paige walked in.
“Hey Paige. How you doing?” It was a strange feeling. Normally it was just one or two sisters affected by a situation like this. An innocent that one of them had connected with dying, for example. Then the other two would be there to offer comfort and support. But now they were all sharing equally in the pain, the loss. Phoebe could only just bear to ask Paige about her feelings, when her own were shot to pieces.
“How am I doing?” Paige could barely believe her sister was asking her. “Our children are in the clutches of an evil demon, not to mention the innocent boy stuck there with them, and you ask how I’m doing?” then she calmed down. “Sorry Pheebs. You been able to get a premonition off that tablet?”<br>“No. Damn it! I really thought I had control over my power. I’ve been able to call up premonitions whenever I want for years, why can’t I do it now? My daughter is in danger and I can’t even call up a lousy premonition to help her!”<br>“Hey, hey, hey. Come on, shh.” Paige pulled her sister into a hug.
“Thanks, I needed that.” Said Phoebe gratefully, sniffing. She had needed to let out some emotion; it was hard to hold it all in. “How’s Piper doing?”<br>“Not so good.” Paige replied. “She’s shut up in her room. How on earth can she make that choice?”<br>“Like Matthew said, it’s not her choice, or Leo’s, it’s his.”<br>“He’s fourteen!”<br>“I know. None of us should be going through this, but especially not the children.”<br>“We need to find out more about these demons, I mean, they’re not your easy vanquish lower level demons are they?”<br>“I suppose we should give them back the Grimoire, and immunity to our Source vanquishing spell. I can’t think of anything else to do.” Phoebe was willing to do anything to get her daughter back.
“We’ve written a vanquishing spell for the Source before, we can do it again.”<br>“I hate to say it, but I agree.”<br>“We should go tell Piper.”<br>
Piper was curled up on her bed. Matthew knocked on the door.
“Mom? Mom, can I come in?” when there was no answer he pushed open the door anyway. “Mom?” He saw that his mother had been crying. “Mom.” Matthew climbed onto the bed and wrapped his arms round his mother.
“Matthew, promise me you won’t leave.”
Matthew hesitated. He wanted to save his sister, and he couldn’t think of another way to do it.
“I’m sorry.” Piper said, sensing his hesitation, “I shouldn’t put you in this position now, it’s just… Matthew, I don’t want to lose you too.”<br>“Melinda is not lost!” Matthew said fiercely. “We’ll get her back.”<br>Just then there was another knock on the door.
“Piper?” Phoebe poked her head round. “Piper, Paige and I think we should comply with the first two demands. We can always write another Source vanquishing spell, though it might take a while.”<br>“What about Melinda?” Piper asked angrily, “What, we just leave her there?”<br>“Piper, we will get Melinda back.” Phoebe said determinedly. “Come here.” She went and hugged her sister. “We wont let anything happen to her. We wont let anything happen to any of them.”<br>

[mcharmed21]

“Hey Phoebe,” Paige said as her sisters and nephew came down the stairs, “maybe you should try Melinda’s things, see if you can get a premonition off them. We’ll contact the demons.”<br>“How?” Matthew asked.
“A calling spell. It’s like a summoning spell, except it’s a request rather than a demand.”<br>“Well get on with it, Paige, our children are at stake. Has Leo got back with the Grimoire yet?” Phoebe asked Piper.
“I’m here,” said Leo, orbing in beside them with a sack, “and so is the Grimoire.”<br>“Piper, you’d better get on with the immunity potion.”<br>“Ok.” Piper said listlessly, and headed into the kitchen. Meanwhile, Phoebe went upstairs to Melinda’s room. Paige sensed that Piper wanted to be alone, and went into the living room to work on the calling spell.

In the kitchen, Piper angrily threw ingredients into the saucepan. Leo came in and put his arms around her.
“A lot of hugging is going on today, huh?” Piper asked.
“Good thing too,” said Leo, “I don’t think I’d be able to cope otherwise. We will get her back you know. You’ll see.”<br>“But that’s just it, what if we don’t.”<br>“We can’t think like that. We need to stay positive.”<br>“Potion’s ready!” Piper called into the other room.
“Get in here quick!” Paige called from the living room.
They all raced in, just as the demons shimmered. Phoebe came running from upstairs and Matthew followed straight after her.
“Where are the children?” Paige demanded.
“Now, now, now, manners, please. That’s no way to speak to the demons who have your loved ones.” Kay then pulled Simon, Penny and Glen out from behind him. Paige took a sharp intake of breath, and it was all Phoebe could do to prevent herself from attacking.
“Mom!” Penny yelled, and tried to run forward, but Kay stopped her.
“Penny, you should know better than that. You’ll be with your mother soon, if she and your aunts cooperate.”<br>“The Grimoire for Glen, Simon and Penny for the potion.” Phoebe spoke up. It was hard for her to put her own daughter second, but Glen was the most vulnerable of all of them, and that was the order they had agreed on.
“And what about Melinda?”<br>“The Grimoire for Glen, Simon and Penny for the potion.” Phoebe repeated, before anyone could say anything.
“We trade on three. Grimoire first. One, two, three.” Kay threw Glen down and snatched the Grimoire from Leo. Paige rushed to her son, picked him up and hugged him and kissed him repeatedly.
“Next, the immunity potion for the other two.” Kay stated.
“Here it is.” Piper stated.
“When I get to three, you get the children. If this potion is a dud, you will pay with Melinda’s life.”<br>“It’s not, please don’t hurt my daughter!” Piper begged.
“She’ll be fine, if you cooperate. Now, on three. One, two, three.” Piper gave Kay the potion, and he pushed Penny and Simon away from him and gulped it down. Phoebe rushed to her daughter.
“Are you alright sweetheart? Please tell me you’re ok?”<br>“I’m ok mom.” Penny sobbed. As Phoebe held her daughter, she was struck by a powerful premonition.
“Simon?” Leo asked, “You ok?”<br>“Fine, yeah.” Simon said in a monotone. The demons shimmered out.
“Matt, what the hell’s going on?” Simon asked. He didn’t understand how they could have seen things that weren’t human, and not seem shocked. “You do realise they weren’t human? They transported in here!”<br>“It’s called shimmering.” Matthew told him blankly.
“Come on Simon,” said Jack, “I’ll tell you everything.”<br>
“Well, that went even better than I expected.” Kay said joyfully.
“I’ve got to hand it to you Kay, this worked. I mean, it’s not the way most demons would have handled it…” Degal got no further with the sentence. Kay grabbed him by the throat. His temper was up again.
“The way most demons would have handled it will not work against The Charmed Ones. Most demons would have killed the children by now. Then The Charmed Ones rage would increase twenty-fold, and we would be dead where we stand, got it?”<br>“I never intended what I said to be an insult, just a compliment.” Degal answered. His neck was becoming sore from all the times Kay had grabbed him by it. “How long can the girl survive in there anyway?”<br>“Long enough for our third demand to be met. We will soon have the most powerful magical child the world has ever known, on the side of evil.

Sam had orbed Penny and Glen ‘up there’, till the whole thing had blown over. He promised to look after them before he left, and said he would wipe their memory of the entire event. Once he had gone, Phoebe told the others about her premonition.
“I saw everything through Penny’s eyes. God she was so scared.”<br>“Go on.” said Paige gently.
“Anyway, I think I recognise where they were being held, I just can’t put a finger on it. I remember it from my time as queen of the underworld.”<br>“Phoebe, please try. Melinda’s life depends on it.” Piper pleaded.
“Wait, I think I remember now. It’s the seer’s chambers, I know it is!”<br>“Now we’re getting somewhere!” said Matthew excitedly.
“But it doesn’t do us any good if we can’t free her.” said Piper despairingly.
“Piper, it’s better us having the box than them, we’ll figure out a way. In the meantime,” Leo instructed, “we need to get going on that vanquishing spell for Degal. Some of his blood was on Simon, Piper, you go get it and make that potion. The rest of us, we need a plan of attack.”<br>

[mcharmed21]

“I’m coming?” Matthew could hardly believe his ears. His aunts were asking him to go along on the vanquish.
“We need you for the distraction. It’s you they really want, so we need you to make them think they can have you, then we go in and get Melinda.” Said Phoebe.
“No!” said Piper, “I am not having both my children put in danger, and I can’t believe you two are suggesting this.”<br>“It’s not just them,” Leo was in the doorway, “I think this is the best way to rescue Melinda.”<br>“How could you even think of putting our son in danger, isn’t it bad enough our daughter’s…” Piper couldn’t bring herself to finish the sentence.
“Piper,” Phoebe cut in, “Matthew wouldn’t be in any danger. We’d come in seconds after him, and it’s not like he can’t defend himself.”<br>“Mom, please, you have to let me do this. I need to do it for Melinda.” Piper sighed in defeat.
“I’ve got the vanquishing potion, what’s the plan?”<br>
Kay was being coroneted as the new Source. Degal was standing by his side, holding the box. As the coronation finished, Matthew orbed in.
“Ah, young Matthew, come to save your sister, I suppose.”<br>“Yeah, that’s right.” Matthew was very nervous, not just for himself, but also for his sister. “Open the box.” The plan was for him to try and get the demons to let her out before they went in attacking.
“Oh, no way, you stupid little witch! What, did you think I’d just let her go? You have to do something first. Prove to me you truly are willing to become evil. Kill an innocent.” Just at that moment, the others got there. Phoebe attacked Degal while Paige fought the other demons with Leo, who forwent pacifism once again to save his daughter. Piper threw the potion at Degal, and he exploded in a ball of flames. The undamaged box fell to the floor.
“NO!” Kay screamed, and lunged at the box. Piper blew him up and Matthew orbed over and grabbed the box, then they all orbed (or disintegrated) out.

“Yes!” Matthew. He had pulled it off, and he was thrilled.
“Couldn’t have done it better myself.” Phoebe joked.
“Oh Melinda, what have they done?” Piper was looking at despair at the box on the table. The statement brought Matthew back down to earth. They had no way of getting his sister out.
“We will get her out. I promise.” Leo put his arm around Piper’s shoulders.
“Listen,” said Paige, “he didn’t say that only he could open the box, he said only evil could open the box. So all we need to do is trick evil into opening it.”<br>“And how do we do that?” Piper asked, sceptically.
“Lower level demon’s a good option.” Said Phoebe.
“I have an idea or two.” Came a voice from the doorway.
“Prue?” said Piper, hardly daring to believe it.
“Oh my god, Prue!” said Phoebe, and ran over and hugged her. Piper went over too.
“You’re corporeal?” she asked.
“Yeah, the big guys up there thought I’d be of better use this way. Hey Paige.” Paige went over and hugged her eldest sister. “Hey, you know the question you asked when you summoned me a couple of months ago, the answer’s yes.”<br>“You summoned Prue?” Piper asked.
“Yeah, I had a question I wanted to ask.” Piper knew better than to enquire further.
“So big sis, what’s your idea?” Phoebe asked.
“Bounty hunters. We play on their greed, and get one of them to open the box.”<br>“Prue that’s brilliant!” Piper’s eyes were filled with painful hope.
“Leo!” Prue greeted him as he came over.
“Hey Prue.” Leo greeted her with a hug. “So, how do we get a bounty hunter to let Melinda out?” He cut right to the chase; there would be time for pleasantries later.
“We tell them we need a demon killed, and the bounty is in the box, one of the most treasured possessions we have, which is the truth.”<br>“Then they open the box!” Matthew cried.
“Not quite kiddo, we need to get them to actually kill the demon. If we let them at the box before they do, they’ll get suspicious. They’re stupid, but not that stupid.”<br>“So how do we choose the demon we want to offer the bounty for?” Piper asked.
“We should go look in the book. Why don’t Piper and I go do that, and you guys write a summoning spell.” Prue could sense her sister needed to talk.

Once they were upstairs, Piper confided in her.
“I’m really scared Prue, I couldn’t bear to lose her.” She collapsed into sobs.
“Hey, come on.” Prue pulled her sister into a hug. “You are not going to lose her, we’ll get her back, and you and Melinda and Matthew and Leo will all get through this together.”
“I really hope so.”<br>

[mcharmed21]

Matthew was in the kitchen with his aunts. They were making the summoning spell for the bounty hunters. They knew that bounty hunters worked in pairs, so they were summoning two.
Phoebe remembered that the spell was originally written for Balthazor, and then thought about it, and realised that this was not about him; Cole was off in England somewhere. She remembered a long while after Paige, the alternate her and the alternate Piper vanquished him in the other reality, he had come back yet again, but in a different light. He told her that powers higher than the Elders had decided to give him one more chance; because of the good they sensed he could do. They took away his powers, and the evil inside of him, and sent him back to earth to live as a mortal man. He had told her he understood now why she hadn’t wanted to be with him, that she had been through so much because of him and their relationship, and hadn’t wanted to go through any more. He said they were sending him to England, to live out the rest of his life as a mortal. When Phoebe inquired as to why, he told her they said when his call comes; he’d know what to do. At first she was suspicious, but then, gradually she began to trust him again, though things would never be like they were, and she had Jack in her life. So, the pair of them had made peace and were now friends. They spoke on the phone about once a month, and occasionally Phoebe would get a member of the family to give her a ride over for a visit. Cole was now married, to another witch, as it happened and had his own school of self-defence and martial arts, something he had built from scratch, after thinking about his training with Phoebe, all those years ago. He also had a son, a year older than Penny, with power of his own, and a daughter Penny’s age, also with her own fair share of power.
Because the spell Phoebe and Paige were making to summon the bounty hunters was not targeted at a specific demon, just a specific demon type, they were also making a potion. Leo had orbed ‘up there’, to tell the elders what was going on. Matthew was feeling scared for his sister, an involuntary tear rolled down his cheek, at the thought of her unable to escape.
“Hey, are you ok?” Phoebe asked, concerned.
“I’m fine.” Matthew brushed his cheek fiercely, not wanting his aunts to know that he had been crying.
“It’s ok to be upset you know.” Paige told him. Matthew turned and buried himself in her top, sobbing. Paige hugged him, and Phoebe laid a hand on his shoulder.
“You know we’ll get her out of there. Your aunt Prue was the best around, and probably still is. And we’re not bad either.”<br>“Found him, the perfect demon for our bounty hunter to track down. A Paxton demon.” Prue announced as she walked in the kitchen door.
“Paxton? What’s that?” Phoebe asked.
“Lower level mischief maker. Easy target.” Piper replied.
“I remember, we’ve faced them down before. What makes you think a bounty hunter would buy it. We’d have to give a reason for not going after it ourselves.” Paige said.
“Couldn’t get a babysitter, don’t want to lower ourselves, come on, that’s the easy part.” Phoebe cut in, “The hard part is getting them to open the box while we’re there.”<br>“Nope, that’s easy too. They’ll be so eager to get to what’s inside, they’ll open the box straight away, then comes the vanquish.” Prue replied.
“It all sounds too easy.” Matthew interjected, “Come to think of it, this has all been too easy.”<br>“That’s why we have to be extra careful with this plan. When things seem to easy, they probably are.” Piper told him.
“But that doesn’t mean it wont turn out ok.” Prue said, shooting a glance at Piper.
“Aunt Prue, it’s ok, I can handle the truth.” Matthew saw the look. He then realised his mother had been crying too. “Mom, it’s going to be ok.”<br>“I know sweetie.” Piper replied.

“He’s a good kid you know.” Prue said to Piper.
“I know.” Piper replied. Matthew had been told to orb ‘up there’ with his dad till this was all over. Piper didn’t want him getting hurt; she felt he’d taken enough risks for his sister already.
“Potion’s ready.” Phoebe came in from the kitchen.
“Prue, you gonna stay for this?” Paige asked.
“I’m not going anywhere, at least not until my niece is back safe.” Prue replied.
“Good.” Piper stated. She was glad her sister was staying. She hadn’t realised how much she had missed her.
“Let’s get going.” Phoebe said, “The sooner we do this, the sooner we get Melinda back.”<br>“Then let’s go.” Said Paige, and the girls all started the spell:
“Magic forces black and white, reaching out through space and light, be they far or be they near, bring us a pair of bounty hunters here.” Phoebe threw the potion to the ground. A cloud of smoke came from the spot. The girls waved their hands in front of their faces to clear it, and when it had dispersed, two bounty hunters were standing there.
“The Charmed Ones! Why have you summoned us?” one demanded angrily.
“We need your help.” Said Phoebe bluntly.
“The Charmed Ones, need help from us?” she asked sceptically.
“There’s a particular demon that’s been getting on our nerves, and we can’t be bothered to leave our kids with a babysitter and go get it.” Piper stated. “There’s a big reward at the end of it.” Paige added.
“What?” the other bounty hunter asked. He was a big burly demon, very different to his partner, who was a blond bombshell whom most men would be attracted too, if she weren’t a demon.
“A big reward, you know, large bounty.” Paige countered.
“Don’t get smart with me, witch, I don’t like it when witches are smart with me. Let’s go Serine.”<br>“Wait!” said Piper. The demons turned. Piper struggled to think of something to say to stop them leaving. “This reward, is one of the most precious things in this house, and we will give it to you if you get rid of this demon for us. It’s really, really getting on our nerves.”<br>“Wait Torts. We’re listening, what’s the demon?” Serine asked.
“Paxton, and it’s been bugging us for some time now. We can’t seem to catch it.” Piper told her.
“And you’re willing to pay that high a price for a lower level demon? That seems a little to much.”<br>

[mcharmed21]

“Well, like we said, it’s been bugging us.” Paige said, “Now will you do it or not?”<br>“We’ll do it.” Said Torts, “Which Paxton?”<br>Piper suddenly realised that they hadn’t thought of that. She began to panic.
“Tax.” Prue interjected.
“Who are you?” Serine asked.
“A fellow witch.” She replied.
“So you want Tax killed? He’s an annoying little demon, I’ll grant you that.” She replied.
“Don’t make small talk, just do the job.” Phoebe ordered.
“If you want this done, do not address us in that fashion.”<br>“Will you do it or not?” Piper asked, getting frustrated, “Because I’m tired of games.”<br>“We’ll do it. It’ll only take five minutes.” Then the demons shimmered out.
Piper put her head in her hands. “Prue, I don’t know if this will work.”<br>“It will work.” Prue replied, “All we have to do is wait.”<br>“Prue,” Phoebe asked, “how did you know the name of a Paxton demon?”<br>“I guessed. I figured if they wanted the reward, even if they couldn’t find a particular demon with that name, they’d bring in another. Except there really is a Paxton called Tax, which means someone up there is sure on our side.”<br>
“And you are sure the bounty is that box?” Kay asked.
“Positive.” Torts replied, “So what’s in it?”<br>“You dare to ask The Source an impertinent question like that?” Kay roared.
“I apologise my liege.” The bounty hunter replied. Evil had been without a source for so long, they weren’t used to paying allegiance to anyone.
“Now, you both understand that once they give you the box, you are to come straight to me, without opening it.” Kay ordered, “and here is the head of the Paxton.” The bounty hunters took it, and left.

“We’re back!” said Serine loudly.
“That was fast.” Said Prue.
“A little too fast.” Interjected Phoebe.
“We said we’d only be five minutes.” The other bounty hunter said, “Now where’s this reward?”<br>“Here.” Piper said, coming in with the box. She hesitated before giving it to them sensing something was up.
“Go on Piper.” Said Paige. Piper offered the box to the bounty hunter. He snatched it, laughing, and was about to leave when Phoebe asked,
“Well, aren’t you going to open it?”<br>“You stupid witches.” He replied, and left.
Piper fell to the floor in despair. “It didn’t work, and now evil has my daughter again.”<br>“Piper, they will open the box, and Melinda will have enough sense to orb back here, you’ll see.” Prue told her, though she was losing hope.

The bounty hunters had vanished ‘down there’, and were talking about what might be in the box.
“If we aren’t allowed to open it, it must be valuable.” Serine said.
“Why should he have it above us, we could have killed that demon ourselves.” Torts said, “Let’s open it.” And with that, he pulled off the lid. Orbs formed, and out came Melinda, feeling dazed and confused. She looked up, and saw a pair of bounty hunters standing over her. The demons saw her, realised they had just made a huge mistake, and lunged. Melinda had very little strength left, but she managed to dodge them. She tried to think of how to get out of there. Then she thought she heard her mother’s voice.
“Mom.” Melinda said weakly, and orbed out, towards the sound of Piper’s voice.

Phoebe was the first to see Melinda orb into the living room and collapse onto the carpet. “Oh my god, Melinda!” she cried, and ran towards her niece.
“Melinda?” Piper asked, looking up, “Melinda!” she ran towards her daughter, and gathered her up in her arms.
“Incoming!” Paige cried, seeing the bounty hunters arrive. With a wave of her hand, Piper blew them up.
“Mom?” Melinda said weakly.
“It’s ok Melinda, I’m here now.” Piper soothed her. “Phoebe, go get her a drink.” Piper knew her daughter was probably dehydrated, having been without water for almost two days.
“Here you go.” Phoebe rushed in with the water.
“Here honey, drink this.” Piper tilted the glass to her daughter’s lips.
“Is she ok?” asked Paige anxiously.
“I’m fine, aunt Paige.” Melinda said feebly, “How are the others? Are they ok, did…”
“Shh, Melinda, they’re fine, don’t worry.” Piper soothed her.
“But I, I know what they’re going to do next!” Melinda was growing agitated.
“Melinda, don’t worry about that now.” Phoebe tried to calm her. Suddenly, Melinda burst into tears. Piper enveloped her in a hug.
“No one is ever going to hurt you again, Melinda, I promise.” Piper told her, and began to cry herself.
“Mom, I thought I would never see you again, and I was so scared!” Melinda sobbed.
“It’s ok, baby, it’s going to be fine.” Piper told her. Prue, Phoebe and Paige crept out of the room, leaving Piper with her daughter. Phoebe and Paige were now desperate to see their own kids, and Paige orbed them ‘up there’ leaving Prue alone.

It was about half an hour later, and Piper was sitting by Melinda’s bed.
“Are you sure you don’t want anything?” Piper asked her daughter, again.
“I’m fine, mom, really.” Melinda told her, “You don’t have to keep fussing. When are dad and Matthew coming down?”<br>“When they’re given the all clear.” Piper would have liked her daughter to be ‘up there’ too, but Melinda couldn’t bear to be parted from her mother, and if she was honest with herself, Piper didn’t want to part with her either. “We don’t know what Kay will do next, and the Elders are worried about where he got… that box from.” Melinda shuddered at the mention of her prison. “Melinda, I swear, he will never get his hands on you again, we’ll all make sure of that.” Just then, Leo orbed in.
“Dad!”<br>

[mcharmed21]

“Melinda!” Leo rushed to the side of the bed and enveloped his daughter in a hug. “I was so scared I would never see you again.” Matthew suddenly appeared in a swirl of orbs.
“Matthew!” Melinda, Piper and Leo all said together.
“Hey Melinda.” Matthew said.
“Hi.” Melinda replied. Then Matthew went and hugged his sister tight. Piper and Leo wrapped their arms around their children. They stayed like that for some time, and then Leo scolded Matthew, though not severely.
“Matthew, didn’t I tell you to stay ‘up there’?”<br>“I had to see if Melinda was safe.”<br>“Leo, you guys should all come back down, the children can’t stay ‘up there’ forever.”<br>“But Kay’s still…”
“I know. Leo, it’s going to be like it was with the old source. We have to re-write a vanquishing spell, and that will take some time. The children can’t spend the rest of their lives with the Elders.”<br>“Ok, I’ll go get them.” Leo orbed out.
“Guys, I’ve got to go downstairs for a minute, will you be ok on your own?”<br>“Relax mom, I’ll be fine.” Melinda replied.
“Yeah, I’ll look after her.” Matthew said.
“You’re the one who needs looking after, not me.” Melinda said, indignantly.
Piper walked off smiling. Melinda was going to be fine.

Piper walked into the living room, and found Prue standing there.
“Piper, you know I have to go now, don’t you?”<br>“Yeah, but I was kind of hoping we’d be able to figure a way around it. Do you have to go right now? I know Paige and Phoebe would want to say goodbye.”<br>“Piper, I have to leave. Tell everyone bye from me.” Lights began to circle around Prue. “I love you all.” Prue said, and disappeared.

It was two days after Melinda had got back, and the kids were all going back to school.
“Melinda, Matthew, come on, or we’ll be late!” Piper called up the stairs.
“We’ll be there in a minute!” Matthew called back.
“Well you’ll have to miss breakfast.” Piper called back, “We’re late enough as it is.”<br>“Come on mom, can’t we just eat, then orb in?” Melinda asked, as the pair came down the stairs.
“I’ve told you before, you are not orbing to school. You’ll be driven, or take the school bus, like normal kids.”<br>“Fine, let’s go.” Matthew interjected. They all headed out the door.

When they got to school, they found Jenny and Simon waiting for them.
“So, you guys are witches, huh?” Jenny asked.
“Yeah.” Melinda replied, “You ok with that?”<br>“Let’s see. Um, you risked your life for me, showed me your powers, and saved me from demons. I think I’m ok with that.”<br>“What about you, Simon?” Matthew asked.
“You and Melinda both risked your lives for us, your parents risk their lives for strangers every day, because they’re innocent. You guys are destined to do the same, and I know you will. That’s good enough for me.”<br>“Good to know, otherwise my dad would have to wipe your memories.”<br>“He can do that?” Jenny asked.
“Sure, why do you think your parents think you’ve both been home with flu this whole time?”<br>“Duh, Jenny!” Simon said, “You think they’re just pretending it didn’t happen?”<br>“It happened, but it’s something I’d like to forget. It’s not exactly a good memory.” Jenny replied.
“Well…” Melinda started.
“No! Even if it’s not a good memory, it’s still mine, and I don’t want my memory wiped.”<br>“Hey, you guys wanna come round to ours tonight?” Matthew asked, changing the subject.
“Sure.” Simon replied. “As long as there aren’t any demons dropping in.”<br>“Well, I can’t promise.” Matthew replied.
“No problem for me.” Jenny said, “I’ll have to phone home and ask though.”<br>“We can all head to the movies.” Melinda suggested.
“Yeah, great idea…” and the four headed into school, discussing what they would get up to that night.

At the end of the day, Paige picked up the kids and drove them back to the manor. When they got there, they all trailed inside. Matthew was the last in.
“Shut the door behind you Matthew!” Piper called to him.
“Kidnapping, demon killing, just another average week at the Halliwell house.” Matthew muttered. Then, just for the fun of it, he gestured, and the door swung shut, apparently of it’s own accord. With a grin, Matthew turned, and headed for the kitchen for a sandwich. Of course, there was still Kay to worry about. But worrying was the job of parents, and Matthew decided not to spend too much time thinking about it. Kay would eventually pay for what he had done.

“Your plan failed. The Charmed Ones are still functioning, and the two most powerful magical forces on earth, are still on the side of good. I needed them, for my plan to work. I even spent time working on that box for you, and what did you do, you let it fall into the hands of good. I should kill you for what you have done, but I’m not going to.”<br>“My lord, I am eternally grateful for your mercy, but why are you being merciful?”<br>“I do not want The Charmed Ones catching on to the fact that there are forces of evil more powerful than the source. They know nothing about the top level of the hierarchy, and I want it kept that way, at least until I make my move. And, of course, I want to see if they manage to vanquish you themselves.”<br>