Our Screwed-Up Destiny

[Primrose_Empath]

And thank you yet again to Sammi, pipercharmedphreak, woogyinthehouse, Miss_New_Orleans, and Phoebe_Halliwell. You guys sure do know how to make a couple of fanfic authors feel really good!

And for your reading enjoyment...today's update.

My apologies, as it's another sorta short one!

---

--PRUE--

I also nodded. "Just remember...as soon as we find her, Cole shimmers the innocent away and then shimmers us home. No confrontations with Kernus if we can at all get away with it!" and both Cole and Phoebe solemnly agreed.

--COLE--

I had shimmered the two sisters to a number of rooftops with helipads but none of them looked quite right to Phoebe. Finally, shortly before nine, we came to one that felt right, especially when we could see the innocent dancing on top of the roof to a tune only she could hear, just as a nearby clock began to toll nine.

--PRUE--

"Cole," I cried. "Go grab her. Now!"

But before Cole could even shimmer out, suddenly Kernus appeared in a swirl of wind. Our innocent screamed in terror as Kernus smirked and waved his hand at her.

My eyes opened wide in terror as I barked out, "Piper! Freeze 'er!"

But, of course, Piper wasn't there.

--PHOEBE--

To our horror, the concussive wave knocked our innocent off of the building! And Kernus actually turned to look at and smirk at us before whirling out.

"Cole!" I screamed. "Go get her! Now!" Even as he shimmered out, Prue and I screamed for Leo and this time he came before we screamed his name a second time.

--COLE--

I shimmered back in, holding the innocent, gently letting her fall to the ground. "Too late," I muttered. "She already hit the ground."

--PRUE--

"Leo!" I cried. "Heal! Now!"

But when Leo kneeled down next to the innocent and put his hands over her and nothing happened, both Phoebe’s and my hearts sank. We both knew what had just happened--we had lost an innocent to Kernus on the same day we buried Piper.

---

To Be Continued....

[*Sammi!*]

Oh no! This cant happen!
Kernus is a swine! You reckon he knew all along then? Argh! What a crafty a**!!

Cole should have gotten down there quicker!

Please update soon!

[woogyinthehouse]

No!!! The innocent died! I sure wasn't expecting that! Oh i feel so sorry for them, please update!

[~.:Alysha:.~]

OH NO!!! Whats going to happen now The innocnet cant have died! Poor Phoebe and Prue..what a horrific experience they would of gone through on the same day the buried Piper by the same a** who killed her Poor Girls!! Update again very soon please

[Primrose_Empath]

Thank you, thank you, thank you! Looks like we've got you three on the edge of your seats, hmm?

Wonderful. ;D

And here's the next piece of the puzzle....

---

--PRUE (continued)--

Curiosity got the better of me and I had to know the name of the innocent we had lost. I reached into the young woman's purse and found her wallet. "Mary Jones." I read aloud, before shifting a despondent gaze to my baby sister. "Phoebe, she was only 28."

--PHOEBE--

I nodded, my eyes filling with tears. "Just like Piper."

--COLE--

Ever the realist, I spoke up, breaking the sudden hush that had fallen over the downtown rooftop. "You guys do realize what this means, don't you?"

Both sisters looked up at me with watery eyes and blank expressions, their minds obviously elsewhere. "Not to sound callous or anything, but somebody's gonna have to call Darryl and let him know about...her." I gestured at the innocent, who was still lying on the ground where I had set her a few minutes prior. "So why don't I go set her back down there, one of you two make the call, and we head home?"

Phoebe and Prue silently nodded. Taking the innocent carefully in my arms, I shimmered back down to the sidewalk and laid her back down in the same spot I found her after Kernus blew her off the roof.

--PRUE--

While he was doing that, I pulled out my phone and quickly dialed Darryl's number. After taking a deep breath to get my emotions under control, I put the phone up to my ear and walked a couple of steps away. "Darryl? There's something you need to know..."

--LEO--

I held onto a distraught Phoebe, trying to comfort her as best I could. After Cole reappeared on the rooftop, I gently handed her off to the half-demon and orbed to the Manor.

--PRUE--

My call to Darryl complete, I flipped my phone shut and joined Phoebe and Cole for the short trip back home.

--COLE--

Seconds later, I shimmered in the Manor with Prue and Phoebe, who were in utter shock as to what had just occurred on the rooftop.

--PHOEBE--

Losing an innocent was never an easy thing. But to lose one who looked so much like Piper on the day that we had said good-bye to her. Well, that was just too much.

--COLE--

I quietly stepped away, knowing that nothing Leo or I could say would help the two girls.

--PRUE--

Even though we basically had no tears left, Phoebs and I sobbed on each other's shoulders, all the while wondering what we were going do without the Power of Three and how we could possibly survive continuing to lose people to Kernus. Much to our surprise, the sound of orbing filled the room.

When I looked up and saw Andy, I began to run to him, but then I saw that there appeared to be a young woman standing just slightly behind him. "Andy? Who's that?"

--ANDY--

But I didn't answer her question; instead I asked one of my own. "Did you mean that, Prue? Do you and Phoebe want the Power of Three back?"

--PHOEBE--

"Of course we do!" I cried. "That's what made us The Charmed Ones!"

--PRUE--

I gave my little sister a look. "If it meant that we could use the Power of Three to get rid of Kernus, of course. But that's impossible."

--ANDY--

"No, Prue, it's not. I have someone for you to meet. This is my charge, Paige Matthews. Prue and Phoebe Halliwell, I'd like you to meet your half-sister."

---

More to Follow....

[~:*Destiny*:~]

Great updates! ;D I love them! They're soooo suprising and FABULOUS! ;D

[pipercharmedphreak]

WOO! *Jumps up and down to see Andy is back*

Love the idea of Paige being Andy's charge!!!

[woogyinthehouse]

Yay!! And we have Paige!!! Im so glad, good way of bringing her into it, Andy's charge. Im also really glad to have Andy back..

Great update!!

More please! ;D

[*Sammi!*]

what a twist! Andy being the one to introduce their sister!

I wonder how Prue will react when she realises that Andy knew all along that they had another sister and didnt tell them!

Please update again very soon!

[~.:Alysha:.~]

OMG i didnt see that one coming..when you said that girls name was Mary Jones i didnt think you were going to bring Paige into this story!! What an amazing twist! Cant wait till the next installment!! Loving every minute of it...great work!!!

[Primrose_Empath]

Thank you pipercharmedphreak, woogyinthehouse, Sammi, and Phoebe_Halliwell!

Didn't see that twist coming, did ya? Perfect. *grins*

My sincerest apologies for the late update. *embarassed blush* But as they say -- better late than never -- so here ya go. Enjoy!

---

--PRUE--

"We have a half-sister?" I demanded, and then turned to Phoebe. "Did you know we have a half-sister?"

Phoebe shook her head. "Nope. You?"

"This is the first I've heard. And if she's Andy's charge, she has to be a witch. So she's another one of Mom's daughters?" and Andy nodded.

--PHOEBE--

At that point, the half-sister in question stepped out from behind Andy and waved shyly, a wary smile on her face. Like our lost innocent, she too bore a strong resemblance to Piper, with the cheekbones, hair length and smile. But that's where the similarities ended. This girl was taller than us and her skin was much paler than Piper's and her hair much darker. In fact, unlike Mary Jones, this girl looked more like Prue than Piper, except like a younger Prue. There was no doubt that she was even younger than me.

And that's what hit me. "How old are you?" I had to know.

--PAIGE--

"24," I replied, my first words to one of my half-sisters.

--PHOEBE--

"24!" I wailed. "So I was only the baby for two years?"

--PRUE--

"No, Phoebs," I insisted, going over to put my arm around her even as I glared at both Andy and Paige. "I don't care how many younger half-siblings we have, you'll always be my baby sister."

--PAIGE--

"Of course she will," I agreed quietly. "I was raised as an only child. I've gone to college. I'm an assistant social worker. And I've never met either of you before now. No way I'd want you to treat me like the baby of the family, the same way I wouldn't know how to treat either of you as my older sister. But the same monster that killed your sister killed my parents. So if you can help me get rid of him, please do."

--PRUE--

I continued to glare at her suspiciously. "Something doesn't make sense here. How can you be our half-sister if your parents were just killed? Our mother must've died when you were just a baby."

--ANDY--

"She means her adoptive parents," I told them. "That's why she called for me. Kernus killed them when he was trying to kill Paige. I got there too late to heal them."

--PAIGE--

"And they will always be my parents the way she," and I pointed at Phoebe, "will always be your baby sister. Even if we do have the same blood mother."

--PRUE--

"No way," I insisted, shaking my head. "Absolutely no freaking way! I would've been, what, eight, when you were born? I'm pretty darned sure that I would've known if Mom was pregnant and she wasn't. I don't even remember her ever getting fat." I then switched my suspicious glare off of Paige and over to Andy. "And how long have you known about all of this?"

--ANDY--

"How long have I known about all of what? That Paige is your half-sister?" The two Halliwells nodded their heads. "I just found out right before I orbed her here." Undaunted by the pair of 'Yeah, right' looks issued in my direction, I continued. "Paige" and I pointed my thumb over to the newcomer, "was my first charge, given to me shortly after my death. But I swear--I had no idea that she was related to you guys up until just now. Just as I'm certain that the Elders had no idea she was your half-sister or they would've never given her to me as a charge."

--PRUE--

"So how did you find out?" I demanded.

--ANDY--

"After I tried to heal Paige's parents and couldn't and then comforted her, I asked Paige why she was still alive. "

--PAIGE--

"That thing never meant to kill my parents." I took over the story. "It meant to kill me. It threw this huge wave of air at me when suddenly I saw all these white sparkly lights in front of my eyes and then I didn't see anything and then I saw the white sparkly lights again and that thing was glaring at me and then left. And that's when I turned and saw the hole in the wall and saw my parents dying and that's when I screamed for Andy."

--PHOEBE--

"She orbed?" I asked in shock.

Andy nodded. "That's when I went to check with the Elders and that's when they figured it out."

--PRUE--

So did I as I put it all together. "Sam. You're Mom and Sam's daughter."

--COLE--

I muttered to Leo, "Sam?"

"Their mother's whitelighter. They had a daughter. Piper and I could've had children. I didn't think it was possible."

I smirked. "Hmm. Apples don't fall far from the forbidden tree, I see."

--PRUE--

I turned to glare at him. "Shush!" Then I turned back towards Andy. "I still think this is all impossible!"

"Haven't you learned yet, my darling? Anything's possible. You just have to know how."

At this new voice, we all spun around.

---

To Be Continued...

[~.:Alysha:.~]

Ohh interesting!! How exciting..Love it!! Its either Grams or their mother who just entered lol!! You two are such amazing writers!! Great Ideas you come up with!! Love it Love it Love it!! cant wait for more

[Primrose_Empath]

Thanks again! And once more, my apologies for yesterday's very late update.

Here's today's edition for you all though, so enjoy!

By the way, a very Happy St. Paddy's Day to you all! Enjoy, have fun, but please...please...be careful. I don't want anything to happen to any of you.

---

--PHOEBE--

There was Grams glowing behind us. "Hello, my darlings."

Paige simply stared in awe as I cried out, "Grams!" then I grew serious. "If that's true, then we want Piper back. No. Wait. Actually, we demand Piper back."

Grams' smile quickly faded. "Sorry, my darling, but that's something that cannot be done."

--PRUE--

"What?!" Phoebe and I exclaimed, our eyes opening wide.

--PHOEBE--

"Wait, wait, wait. Timeout here." A puzzled expression crossed my face as I made a 'T' with my hands. "You just told us that anything is possible. If that's the case, then we want our sister back; we want her back now. Not in five minutes, not tomorrow, not next week. NOW!"

--GRAMS--

"I know you want her back," I soothed sympathetically. "And I know you miss her terribly--the pain of losing her is plainly written all over your faces. But you need to understand. It's not Piper's destiny to come back, nor is it your destiny to have her back."

--PRUE--

I rolled my eyes as I let out a sarcastic laugh. "Destiny, smestiny! That has got to be absolutely the lamest excuse I have ever heard. In case you haven't noticed, our destiny is All. Screwed. Up. Period. Exclamation Point! So if you want to fix it, then you bring Piper back right now!" Then I turned to look at the newcomer. "No offense meant."

--PAIGE--

I nodded. "None taken. If getting this Piper back means you guys can get rid of Kernus, then that's just fine with me. Really, it is."

--GRAMS--

"But you don't need Piper to get rid of Kernus," I pointed out. "You just need you three."

--PRUE--

"No," I insisted. "We need the Power of Three and for that we need three sisters descended from Melinda Warren, and she's not our sister."

--GRAMS--

"But she is your half-sister through me, through your mother. That makes her your sister-witch and will allow you to reconstitute the Power of Three. Charmed. Again."

--PRUE--

"But we don't want to be Charmed Again!"

--PHOEBE--

"We don't?"

--PRUE--

"No. We don't. It only means more deaths. Although I don't like the idea of losing more innocents, I couldn't take another death of someone I love."

--GRAMS--

"I know you're hurting, my darling, but unless you do something, Kernus will just keep on hurting you worse. Ever since Piper, he's been targeting witches who look like her, look like you, look like Phoebe. Paige would've been the fourth one."

"So there's others out there?"

"Yes, and there will be more if you three don't get rid of him. He's doing it to torture you two more after he broke the Power of Three."

--PHOEBE--

"Of course he is," I muttered. "Apparently breaking the Power of Three wasn’t good enough for him then…that figures. That just figures."

--PRUE--

"Speaking of the Power of Three, I’m still confused about something here, Grams," I interjected. "Why didn't anyone tell us that we have a half-sister and why don't I remember Mom growing fat?"

--GRAMS--

I smiled and waved my hand. "A little incantation and a pregnancy can stay hidden, my darling. Your mother and Sam gave her to a pair of witches who could raise her properly and wouldn't be surprised when her powers were released along with yours. And we did it to protect Paige, so the demons wouldn't know that there was another Halliwell who wasn't a part of the Power of Three."

--PAIGE--

I shook my head. "I'm a Matthews, not a Halliwell."

--GRAMS--

"No, you're my granddaughter, so that makes you a Halliwell no matter what your last name is," although the looks I saw on Prue's and Phoebe's faces said that they weren't so sure about that.

--PAIGE--

Also seeing their faces, I shook my head again. "I'm sorry, but I don't know you any more than I know them and I already have two wonderful grandmothers, so I'm still a Matthews."

--GRAMS--

I was insulted. "My dear, if your parents and I did not want to protect you, you would not have had that wonderful family you're so fond of!"

--PAIGE--

"That might be. But it's not important." Even as the ghost of the woman that claimed to be my grandmother harrumphed again, I continued, "But Andy said the Elders thought that somehow the three of us could use something called The Power of Three to get rid of Kernus. That's what's truly important or I wouldn't even be here. You guys just mentioned that Power of Three thing too. So can you tell me what they meant?"

---

To Be Continued....

[*Sammi!*]

So Kernus killed Paige's parents? Thats certainly another twist I wasnt expecting. And this Paige is lots more brash than the other one. I like this one better!

I completely feel for Prue and Phoebe. Id want Piper back instead of Paige too!

Please update soon! I wanna know if they succeed in killing Kernus!

[Esmeralda]

sammie said:

So Kernus killed Paige's parents? Thats certainly another twist I wasnt expecting.

So do you agree that Paige needed Andy more than Prue did??

And this Paige is lots more brash than the other one. I like this one better!

Very glad to hear that. She's acting like a certain only child we know *looks at her fellow co-writer* and not the baby, which as she points out, she isn't.

I completely feel for Prue and Phoebe. Id want Piper back instead of Paige too!

Yeah, like Prue said, no offense meant to Paige, but, well, you gotta admit, we're being pretty mean throwing all of this at Prue and Phoebe on the day of Piper's funeral! But we *do* have a reason for doing it this way!

Please update soon! I wanna know if they succeed in killing Kernus!

So do I!!

Thanks again to you and all of our wonderful readers for reading and reviewing! We love it SOOO much!

[*Prueforever*]

Hey guys can I just say one thing WOOW

Ive not been on this board recently but the fan fics were the first things I checked out and I saw this one first and you have had me hooked for the past 3 hours reading it all.

It absoloutley fantastic so many twists and turns.

I really hope youll update soon coz i cant wait to read more ;D

[~:*Destiny*:~]

I love yawls updates and please continue soon! ;D

[~.:Alysha:.~]

Love it guys!! I want Piper back to.. Bring her back!! lol..This stpry is so amazing.. cant wait for the next update!

[Primrose_Empath]

Thank you Sammi, Phoebe_Halliwell, and our newest reader *Prueforever* for your reviews! You guys rock.

Without further delay, I bring you today's edition...happy reading!

---

--GRAMS--

"Gladly, darling." Paige rolled her eyes, but I took no notice and continued. "In a nutshell, here it is: The Power of Three is the most powerful connection in the universe It came to be due to Melinda Warren's spell."

"Melinda who?"

"Melinda Warren. Your great-great-great-great-great grandmother. The Power of Three allows three sisters who are descended from her to become more powerful as a unit than they would be by themselves."

--PAIGE--

"Really? That's what it is?"

--PRUE--

"That's it. Right, Phoebs?"

--PHOEBE--

"That about covers it. The Power of Three spells are the most powerful spells the world has ever known."

--PAIGE--

"And you think this could work with me?"

--GRAMS-

"Well, it won't hurt to try." I waved my hand and produced a piece of paper. "Here's a spell just for that purpose. After all, that's one of the reasons I came down, my darlings, to give you this."

--PHOEBE--

I took the paper and quickly scanned it. "If this is what we've gotta do to regain it, then I'm all for it. How 'bout you two?"

"May I see that, please, Phoebs?" I handed the paper to my big sister, who also gave it a quick read. "Are you sure about this?" she asked.

"I've never been more sure that this is what we need to do. For Piper. So, whatcha think?"

"I'll do it. Anything to take down that...thing that killed my parents."

"Prue?"

"Fine. I'll do it. But just to get rid of Kernus...no new Charmed Ones!"

Paige and I exchanged a glance that said 'We'll talk her into it later' then we both exchanged identical smiles.

"Well, what are you three waiting for? The next millenium?"

After shooting Grams a look, the three of us gathered together, held hands and began to chant:

"Hear now the words of the witches,
The secrets we hid in the night.
The oldest of Gods are invoked here,
The great magic is sought.

In this night and in this hour,
We call upon the ancient power.
Listen to us sisters three.
Bring back now the Power of Three. "

"Good-bye, my darlings! I love you!"

"Thank you, Grams! Tell Piper we love her!"

--PRUE--

"Well, let's see if this works. Wanna give it a shot?"

--PAIGE--

"Might as well. Let's go for it."

--PRUE--

"Unbreakable object ready, Phoebs?"

--PHOEBE--

"Ready."

--PRUE--

"When Phoebe tosses it, you flick out your hands."

--PAIGE--

"Like this?"

--PRUE--

"Exactly like that. Okay. Toss it."

--PAIGE--

"Whoa. Cool. It's just...hanging there. Is that supposed to happen?"

--PHOEBE--

"That's exactly what's supposed to happen. Melinda Warren said that one of the Charmed Ones would be able to freeze time. That was Piper's power. Now it's yours. Okay, should we see if she's got the explosion thingy going?"

--PAIGE--

"Explosion? That sounds scary."

--PRUE--

"Scary but effective."

--PAIGE--

"Well, okay, I guess. How does it work?"

--PRUE--

"When you flick your hand this time, try getting mad at it while focusing your energy into making that frozen cup burst into tiny bits, 'kay?

--PAIGE--

"Bursting into tiny bits...right."

--PHOEBE--

"Hello! What the hell was that? 'Cause that cup didn't explode. It darn near took my head off!"

--PAIGE--

"Sorry!"

--PRUE--

"So instead of freezing and exploding, she can freeze and speed up? A different use of time-manipulation which could prove useful."

--PAIGE--

"So I didn't screw up?"

--PRUE--

"No. Far from it. You did everything right--just caught us by surprise. It works differently for you than it did for Piper, that's all."

--PHOEBE--

"Whatcha think?"

--PRUE--

"With a bit more practice, I'd say she's just about ready. But why don't we check our options in that big book upstairs? The more prepared we are for this guy, the better."

--PAIGE--

"Oh, you guys have your own Book of Shadows?"

--PHOEBE--

"Yep, and it's like a member of the family--it always tells us what we need to know."

And together we headed up the stairs -- the oldest, the baby and the youngest, respectively.

--COLE--

I made to follow, but was stopped by Andy and Leo. "This is something the girls will have to figure out by themselves."

---

More To Follow....

[Esmeralda]

Well, unlike Paige on TV, our Paige wants to get Kernus as much as the Charmed Ones do--for her parents--part of the reason why we let them die now rather than when she was 16 (You really don't think the Elders or the demons wouldn't have noticed someone who's alive orbing??). Also, she already knows that she's a witch--she just didn't have Warren powers before. And we're not trying to force her to be the baby--we're letting Phoebe keep her role in the family while still being stuck in the middle!

But we're happy that you like what we're doing with our alternate world!