Makeshift Coven

[noazmale]

CHARMED
"Makeshift Coven"
by J. B. Tilton and Angela Roche
email: [e-mail]
Rating: T

Disclaimer: “Charmed” and all related characters and events are the property of the WB television network, except for those characters specifically created for this story. This is a work of fan fiction and no infringement of copyright is intended.

* * *

(Authors note: This story takes place between season 5 episodes “Centennial Charmed” and “House Call”.)

* * *

When the sisters are suddenly sent back in time, they discover that a serial killer is stalking a local high school. Without their powers, they must find out who the killer is and put an end to the killings.

* * *

ONE

Piper sat in the attic going through a box of books. Even after living in the manor for so many years there were still so many boxes they hadn’t gone through. With Cole now permanently vanquished, and the demons on an apparent sabbatical, she had decided it was a good time to sort through some of the things. Suddenly, Phoebe and Paige walked into the attic.

“What cha’ doing?” asked Phoebe.

“Just sorting through this,” said Piper. “It seems like every year this place gets more and more crowded.”

“You’re right,” said Phoebe. “I guess its like most attics. A catch all for things you don’t want to get rid of but don’t use most of the time.

“Where’s Leo?” asked Phoebe.

“I don’t know,” said Piper. “He was kind of mysterious this morning. He said something about having to take care of something or other then orbed out.”

“My mom used to go on a rant every Spring,” said Paige. “We’d spend an entire weekend just cleaning out the attic. The next weekend it was the garage. Boy, how I hated those weekends.”

“Maybe we should do that,” said Phoebe. “Just go through and get rid of all the junk.”

“Most of its not junk. This for instance.” Said Piper, holding up a photo album. “Its mom and dad’s wedding album. I certainly wouldn’t call that junk.”

“No of course not,” said Phoebe. “But I’m sure a lot of this stuff is junk. We can get rid of that stuff.”

“Well as much as I hated it when I was a kid,” said Paige, “I have to admit I miss it now. I guess I just miss my parents. It was something we always did together.”

“We know the feeling,” said Piper. “It was the same with us and Prue. Sometimes I miss some of the things we all used to do together.”

“So do I honey,” said Phoebe. “Hey I have an idea. Why don’t we start our own traditions? We can start with the attic. Once a year we can all come up her together and clean it up.

“Sounds good to me,” said Paige.

“Okay then,” said Piper, “lets get started. There’s a lot of stuff to go through up here.”

They spent the next couple of hours cleaning through boxes around the attic. They piled all the junk they planned to get rid of next to the attic door.

“Hey, whose is this?” asked Paige holding up a book.

“What is it?” asked Phoebe.

“Looks like a high school year book,” said Paige. “I’m assuming this is not junk.”

“Let me see that,” said Piper.

She took the book from Paige and looked it over.

“It’s mine,” said Piper. “I got it my junior year. Lets see I was sixteen. Prue was eighteen and a senior. That’s the year she graduated. And Phoebe would have been fourteen and a freshman.”

“The year of hell,” joked Phoebe. “I seemed to recall I was especially troublesome.

“Let’s see,” said Paige. “That would have mad me twelve. The year before my parents died. Oh yeah, I remember. I sort of ran away from home for a couple of days that year.”

“Sort of ran away from home?” asked Piper. “Where did you go?”

“Oh,” said Paige thinking, “I don’t remember. I do know I caught hell when I got home though.”

“Piper wasn’t that the year those five girls were murdered?” asked Phoebe

“Yeah it was,” said Piper. “They never caught the guy.”

“What murders?” asked Paige

“Five girls from our school were kidnapped and murdered,” said Piper. “Then they just suddenly stopped. Everyone was on edge.”

“I can imagine,” said Paige. “Did you guys know any of the girls?”

“No not really,” said Phoebe. “But if I remember didn’t they have an entire page in the yearbook dedicated to them?”

“Yeah” said Piper, opening the book. “Let me see if I can find it.”

As soon as Piper opened the book, a wind began to whip around the attic. Before any of the girls could move, a vortex opened, drawing them inside. Within seconds, the attic was empty.

[vanillabliss]

[glow=lightgreen,2,300]awesome! can't wait to read more.[/glow]

[noazmale]

TWO

Piper stood looking down a hallway filled with kids. Row upon row of lockers lined both sides of the hallway. A low roar filled the hall as all of the kids talked at once each involved in their own conversations. The sight was unmistakable. She was standing in the hallway of a school.

But that didn’t make any sense. Only a moment ago she, Phoebe, and Paige had been in the attic. Paige hadn’t orbed them anywhere. And Leo was gone at the moment. How could she just suddenly appear here? And Why?

“Well, you gonna’ let me borrow them or what?”

Piper spun around. Standing next to her was a blonde, about sixteen. She stood looking at Piper with her hand out. For a minute Piper didn’t recognize the girl. Then, suddenly, she remembered who it was.

“Melissa?” questioned Piper.

“Don’t go spacey on me Piper,” said the girl. “If I fail another Bio test my mom is going to kill me. Are you going to let me borrow your notes from class or not?”

Piper suddenly noticed she was holding several pages of handwritten notes. She recognized the handwriting. It was hers. And the heading on the first page indicated they were from a biology class.

“What?” questioned Piper “Bio notes?”

“Yeah,” said the girl, taking the pages from Piper. “Thanks Piper. You’ve saved my life. I’ll get these back to you after study hall.”

Piper just watched as the girl hurried away down the hallway. This was crazy. Melissa Stephens had been one of Piper’s high school friends. One of her few friends. She and Piper were the same age. That would make her about thirty now. But this girl was obviously a high school student. And she was tool old to have been Melissa’s daughter.

Piper turned and looked at the open locker she was standing next to. She hadn’t seen that locker in almost 15 years. It had been her locker in high school. It was exactly as she remembered, including the small makeup mirror hanging on the door.

The reflection staring back at her was her reflection. But it was her high school reflection, not the reflection of a fully-grown, Piper. A married Piper who was expecting her first child. Almost involuntarily, she looked down.

Her stomach was flat as a board. She wasn’t very surprised. It didn’t take much to figure out what had happened. Somehow, she had gone back in time. She was obviously back in high school, apparently, some time during her sophomore or junior year. As she remembered it, she had met Melissa, during her sophomore year.

And in coming back to the past, she had appeared in her high school body which meant, there was no baby and no powers. Her powers were still years in the future.

What she didn’t know was how she had come to the past. Or why. Outside of the Elders, it took a Power of Three spell to travel in time. Could the Elders be behind this? Sending her back to the past for some purpose?

She had no answers. Nor did she know if Phoebe and Paige had come back with her. They had all been together when this had happened. But that was no guarantee they had been affected too.

“Hey did you hear about little sister?” asked a voice behind her.

Piper turned and froze. Her heart skipped a beat as she saw Prue standing there. A young Prue, as she had looked in high school.

“She got caught skipping class again,” said Prue. “And she was caught smoking in the bathroom again. Grams is going to have a fit.”

Piper couldn’t speak. All she could do was stare at her older sister.

[vanillabliss]

LMAO nice! this is really interesting.

[noazmale]

THREE

“You okay?” asked Prue.

“Prue, you’re alive,” gasped Piper hugging her sister close. “You’re alive.”

“Of course I am,” said Prue. “Are you okay?”

“What?” questioned Piper, composing herself. “Oh yeah. I was just so glad to see you that’s all.”

“Ease up,” said Prue. “I know these killings have everyone on edge but I’m fine.”

“Killings?” questioned Piper. “Oh yeah, the killings. Aren’t they terrible?”

“They’ll catch the guy,” said Pure. “Just don’t walk home alone. And with what Phoebe did today, you might want to spend some time at the library before you go home. Grams is going to be mad as a hornet when she finds out what Phoebe did.”

“Oh, okay,” said Piper. “Do you know where Phoebe is right now?”

“Where else?” Prue asked. “The Principals office.”

“Okay, thanks,” said Piper.

“See you at home,” said Prue, walking down the hall.

Piper closed her locker and headed to the principals office. At least she knew a little more than she did before. It was some time during her junior year. Prue had mentioned killings; plural. That meant at least two of the victims had already died. It should be easy to find out how many there had already been. It would be all over the school.

But right now she had to find Phoebe and Paige. She had to find out if they had come back with her or if she had come back alone. She was going to need help if she was going to figure this thing out.

She stood outside the principals’ office waiting for Phoebe. The secretary said that Phoebe was still in his office but should be out soon. Piper had no idea how to find out if this Phoebe was the future Phoebe or the one still in high school. She couldn’t just come out and ask. If Phoebe hadn’t come back with her, she’d sound like an idiot. She was still considering her options when Phoebe came out of the office.

Piper just stared at her younger sister. She had forgotten how outlandish the young Phoebe had dressed. She was wearing a pair of jeans with the knees deliberately ripped out. She was just beginning to “fill out” and wore a strapless blouse that accentuated her ever-increasing cleavage. This was topped off with a leather motorcycle jacket. Piper could only stare at this Phoebe, who was a long way from the mature responsible woman she would eventually become.

[Fourever Charmed]

I really like this idea, and I cannot wait until Piper reunites with Phoebe and Paige, all in their past bodies. (Paige would still have her orbing ability, right? Just like in A Paige From The Past? And by the way, in the show, didn't Paige's parents die when she was sixteen, not thirteen?) I think my favorite scene, thus far, was Piper seeing Prue again. (I'm crossing my fingers for a Paige and Prue meeting, even if it is only brief!)

[noazmale]

FOUR

“Don’t say anything,” snapped Phoebe. “I’ve already been read the riot act by Principal Michaels.”

“Busted again, huh?” asked Piper.

“Yeah,” said Phoebe. “Grams is going to go ballistic. He called her and she persuaded him not to kick me out of school. But I am not looking forward to going home.”

“Well don’t cut class or smoke in school, and you wont have to worry about it,” said Piper.

“I know, I know,” said Phoebe. “Uh, Piper, um, have you seen Prue today?”

“Yeah,” said Piper. “She told me where you were at. Why?”

“Just curious,” said Phoebe. “I uh, just haven’t seen her since I, uh got to school.”

“I think she went to class,” said Piper.

“Oh, okay,” said Phoebe. “You haven’t seen my friend, Paige have you? Paige Matthews?’

Piper’s heart skipped a beat. Neither of them had known Paige until after Prue had died. If Phoebe was mentioning her, it might be her way of seeing if this was the future Piper.

“Not since I got to school,” said Piper. “Have you seen Leo?”

“You said he went to a meeting this morning,” said Phoebe. “Piper?”

“Mrs. Turner?” questioned Piper.

“Oh thank goodness,” said Phoebe. “I was afraid I was here by myself. Piper what’s going on? One minute we’re in the attic, the next I’m in there getting my butt chewed out.”

“I don’t know,” said Piper. “Come on. Let’s find some place private where we can talk.”

They went to one of the girls’ bathrooms. With everyone in class, it was deserted. Piper locked the door after they were inside.

“Look at me,” said Phoebe, looking at herself in the mirror. “I’m a kid.”

“You’re fourteen,” said Piper. “Prue mentioned the murders. That would make this my junior year, and your freshman year.”

“And this outfit,” said Phoebe. “Ugh, didn’t I ever dress normally.”

“No you didn’t, sweetie, “ said Piper. “Remember you dressed that way just to piss Grams off.”

“Oh, right,” said Phoebe. “Piper, what are we doing here? And how did we get here?”

“I don’t know,” said Piper. “I just opened my yearbook and the next thing I know, we’re back here. I wonder where Paige is.”

“She probably ended up in herself, too” said Phoebe. “If she’s only twelve, she would be at a different school.”

“If she came back at all,” said Piper. “It might just be you and me.”

“So what do we do?” asked Phoebe. “If we’re still teenagers, we don’t have our powers. How do we figure out what’s going on?”

“If we could get to the Book of Shadows, it might give up some answers,” said Piper.

“Good luck,” said Phoebe. “Grams always kept the attic locked and wouldn’t let us go up there. I’m betting she’s put a spell on it so we can’t open the door. Remember after she died? You and Prue couldn’t get the door opened until I got there.”

“I remember,” said Piper. “We’ll just have to see if we can figure this out without the book.”

“That’s not going to be easy,” said Phoebe. “No book, no powers, maybe no Paige, this is going to be difficult.”

“We’ll have to think of something,” said Piper. “I’m betting its no coincidence this happened when I opened my yearbook. Maybe some mystical force used it to bring back here.”

“We can’t change the past you know that,” said Phoebe. “So why bring us back?”

“I don’t know,” said Piper. “That’s one of the things we have to figure out.”

Suddenly they heard the lock on the door turn. They watched as the door opened and a woman walked in. It took both of them a moment to recognize the woman. At almost the same instant, they both remembered who the woman was. It was Mrs. Logan, the schools’ vice principal.

[vanillabliss]

ohhh gettin good! ;D

[Fourever Charmed]

The beginning confused me a little, and then I realized they were talking in code. Nice touch. And, unfortunately, it looks like teen Piper will end up having her first time in detention. (I'm sure Grams will LOVE that!) And of course Paige. Wow. I'm crossing my fingers that we might see her hanging out with Past Glenn? I can't wait until the three of them hook up again. (Maybe having the Power of Three connect under the roof again will allow them to open the attic door, even if it isn't the Power of Three with Prue? Hmm.) Update soon!

[noazmale]

FIVE

“I trust you both have a pass to be here,” said Mrs. Logan.

“What?” asked Piper “Oh no we don’t. Uh actually, Phoebe wasn’t feeling well. We thought we should get her out of the halls.”

“Oh yeah,” said Phoebe. “I uh, felt like I was going to throw up.”

“Cigarettes will do that,” said Logan. “You seem to be feeling better now.”

“Yeah, I am,” said Phoebe. “I’m feeling a lot better.

“Then I suggest you get to class,” said Logan

“We were just heading there,” said Piper.

“That was close,” said Phoebe as they headed down the hallway. “I thought Grams was going to get another call on me today.”

“You forget,” said Piper, “I was almost never in trouble in high school. In fact, most of the teachers liked me.”

“Why not?” asked Phoebe. “Almost straight A’s. Never late to class, never missed a class and always did your homework. You were a teachers dream student.”

“Come on,” said Piper. “We have some work to do. First, we have to find Paige. We have to see if she was brought back with us. Then we have to figure out what’s going on.”

Finding Paige proved to be harder than they had imagined. Although they knew a lot about Paige’s childhood they soon found out there were a lot of specifics they didn’t know. Like her parents names or her address. Or what the names of the schools she had attended had been. Matthews was a pretty common name. There were far too many in the phone book to call all of them. And without some idea of what school she had attended, they had no idea where to start looking.

“I never realized just how little we know about her,” said Phoebe.

“We’ve only known her a year and a half,” said Piper. “You can’t learn everything over night.”

“Actually its closer to two years now,” said a voice behind them, “and from the sound of it, I’m not the only one doing the H.G. Wells thing.”

Piper and Phoebe turned to see a very young Paige standing behind them. She had straight black hair, and braces. And she looked to be about twelve years old.”

“Paige?” questioned Phoebe.

“It’s me sis,” said Paige. “It took me a while to get oriented but I got here as quickly as I could.”

The three sisters hugged, glad to all be together again.

“How did you find us?” asked Piper. “I don’t remember ever telling you what high school we went to.”

“I sensed you,” said Paige. “As soon as I knew you were alone, I orbed here.”

“You orbed?” asked Phoebe.

“Wait a minute,” said Piper. “How can you orb? You won’t be a Charmed One for more than a decade.”

“I may not have my witch powers,” said Paige, “but remember, I’ve always been half White Lighter. I just didn’t know it or how to use my powers. That’s not a problem for me as an adult. And since I’ve always had my White Lighter powers, I can use them even if I am only twelve years old.”

“That might come in handy,” said Piper. “At least one of us has our powers.”

“So you guys don’t know what’s going on either?” asked Paige.

“No,” said Phoebe. “We think it might have something to do with the murders. But that’s only speculation right now.”

“We need the Book of Shadows,” said Paige.

“That’s not going to be easy,” said Piper. “Grams keeps the attic door locked. Probably so we don’t find the Book of Shadows.”

“No problem,” said Paige. “I can orb all of us in. A locked door is no hindrance to me.”

“That’s a good idea,” said Phoebe. “But we better wait until Grams is gone. We don’t want to make her suspicious.”

“Good idea,” said Piper. “Lets get home. Maybe there’s something there that can give us a clue as to what’s going on.

[Fourever Charmed]

Oh, lucky break that everyone loves Piper. Although she'll still be counted as absent, and I sense problems about that when Grams finds out that she hasn't been to all of her classes...along with Phoebe. And haven't Piper and Phoebe learned from the last time they got stuck in the past, that trying to keep Grams out of the loop is a bad idea? lol But I love that Paige still has full access to her whitelighter powers. But I have a feeling that Grams may happen to walk in on them while they're looking through the Book. Uh oh.

I'm loving this! Update A.S.A.P.

[noazmale]

SIX

“Phoebe, what were you thinking?” Grams asked back at the manor. “Skipping class again, and smoking. Do you have any idea what smoking will do to you? Especially at your age?”

“I know Grams,” said Phoebe, “and I’m really sorry.”

“That’s what you said the last time,” said Grams. “And the time before that. Every time you get in trouble and every time you’re sorry. But you keep doing it. The principal wanted to expel you this time. Honestly, Phoebe, I just don’t know what I’m going to do with you.”

“This time I mean it, Grams,” said Phoebe. “I really, really am sorry. I never wanted to hurt you. I just wasn’t thinking.”

“Are you okay?” asked Grams.

“Yeah, why?” Phoebe asked.

“You seem different, that’s all,” said Grams.

“Oh, uh, I think she’s learned her lesson Grams,” interjected Piper. “Principal Michaels really read her the riot act. I think it sank in this time.”

“You do?” asked Grams, looking at Piper. “Well, you’re still grounded for a month. Straight to school, and straight home, and no television. You can spend the time catching up on all that homework you’ve missed.”

“Okay,” said Phoebe.

“What, no crying or complaining?” asked Grams. “Not even an argument?”

“I screwed up,” said Phoebe.

“Okay,” said Grams. “So who’s your friend?”

“Paige Matthews, Grams, uh, I mean Ms Halliwell,” said Paige.

“Oh, go ahead and call me Grams,” said Grams. “They do.”

“Okay, Thanks,” said Paige.

“Do I know your parents?” asked Grams. “You seem familiar.”

“No I don’t think so,” said Paige. “I don’t think you’ve ever met them.”

“You just look so familiar,” said Grams. “Oh, well dinner will be ready in a little bit. Paige you’re welcome to stay if you want.”

“Thanks, Grams,” said Paige. “I’d like that.”

“Girls,” said Grams. “Prue is leaving on her class trip tomorrow. Tonight, I’d like a nice, peaceful dinner without any arguing if you don’t mind. Let’s just see if we can all be civil to each other just this one time.”

“We’ll be on our best behavior, Grams,” promised Piper.

“Both of you,” emphasized Grams, looking directly at Phoebe.

“Word of honor,” said Phoebe.

Grams walked to the kitchen door. Just before she walked into the kitchen she turned and looked at the three. She had a strange look on her face. Then she turned and walked into the kitchen.

* * *

Dinner went just as the girls had promised. Instead of arguing over some silly disagreement, they had a nice peaceful dinner. Prue was more than a little confused when Phoebe didn’t lash out like she usually did when Prue made her snide remarks about Phoebe’s actions. After a couple of remarks, Prue let the matter drop.

“I have my women’s meeting tomorrow,” said Grams, “so I’ll be late getting home. But you still have to come straight home from school, Phoebe. And remember. No television.

“Understood,” said Phoebe. “Straight home from school.”

“I’ll make sure she does,” said Piper.

“You’re helpful all of a sudden,” said Prue. “Usually you don’t volunteer for something like that.”

“Just trying to help Phoebe prove she’s changed,” said Piper.

“Well,” said Grams, “Paige you want me to take you home? It’s dark out. Not very safe for a young girl this time of night.”

“Oh, uh, no,” said Paige. “My dad’s meeting me down the street. He’s probably already there. I guess I should be going.”

“Stop by again sometime,” Grams said.

“I will,” said Paige

“She’s a nice girl,” said Grams after Paige had left. “Well, big day tomorrow. Guess I should be getting to bed. Don’t stay up too late.”

“We won’t,” promised Pure.

The three sisters stayed up talking. Although she was perplexed about it, Pure found it refreshing to just talk with her sisters instead of fighting with them.

[Fourever Charmed]

Hmm. I wonder if Grams senses something about Paige? Anywho, I'm just loving this. Poor Grams, though. As soon as Phoebe returns to her present, Past Phoebe will resume her destructive behavior. And, unfortunately, there wasn't any conversation between Paige and Prue. I was really crossing my fingers for interaction between them, or at least Prue thinking that Paige looked awfully familiar or even that she reminded her of herself. Oh, and kudos on the end. It was cute just to see them all talking again. Poor Piper and Phoebe. It must be SO hard!

[noazmale]

SEVEN

“Morning,” Piper said to Paige.

“Morning,” said Paige. “Feels kind of strange having to sneak into the manor. Lucky for me I can get in unobserved.”

“Well, you need to get out the same way,” said Piper. “We can’t have Grams catching you here. Too many questions we couldn’t answer. We’ll meet you at school.”

Paige orbed out of the bedroom. After leaving the manor the night before, she had orbed back to Piper’s room. She had stayed there the night. Now, she waited at the school for Piper and Phoebe.

In uncharacteristic fashion, Piper and Phoebe saw their oldest sister off at the bus. They both knew that whatever they had come here to do would probably be finished before Prue returned from the trip. At lest they had the opportunity to visit with her again.

Piper and Phoebe met Paige at the pre-arranged location. Their plan was simple. Paige would orb them into the attic while Grams was at her women’s meeting. She attended the meeting every week. They would be able to look through the Book of Shadows without being disturbed.

“I don’t see why we can’t just tell her,” said Paige. “She is a witch, after all. I’m sure she’d understand.”

“We can’t change the past,” said Piper. “Which means, presumably, that we can’t give her any idea of what her future is going to be like.”

“Besides,” said Phoebe. “She’d want to know why Prue didn’t come back with us and you did. Remember, no one knows about you yet. And I for one don’t want to tell her about Prue. No sense in upsetting her like that.”

“Right,” said Piper. “Now, she’ll be at her meeting for several hours. It should give us enough time to look through the book. So I guess its time for you to do your thing”

Paige took hold of Piper and Phoebe and orbed them into the attic. It looked exactly as Piper and Phoebe remembered it looking when they had first opened the attic door.

“She kept the Book of Shadows in that footlocker under the window,” said Phoebe. “I wonder why she didn’t keep it on the podium like we do.”

“Probably in case we ever got in here,’ said Piper. “At least this way there was less of a chance of us finding it.”

Phoebe pulled the book out of the locker. In all the centuries it had existed, it hadn’t changed a bit. Except it got progressively larger, as succeeding generations of Halliwells added to it.

“To bad we can’t make a few entries,” said Phoebe, “It might save us some heartache.”

“I know, sweetie,” said Piper. “But you know the rules.”

Phoebe opened the book and they began to look through it. Most entries they just skimmed over. They knew those entries would have nothing to do with their current situations.

“What about that one?” asked Paige. “A Woogie?”

“It might be possible,” said Piper. “But somehow I don’t think so. The Woogie didn’t strike me as having the power to move anyone through time.”

“What about Tempest?” asked Phoebe. “His specialty was time manipulation?”

“He was destroyed when,” began Piper, “before the Source was vanquished. Unless he reached into the future for us, I think we can count him out as well.”

“You’re right,” said Piper. “There just doesn’t seem to be anything that fits. I was sure we’d find something that would help us.”

“Maybe I could help,” said a voice from the attic doorway. “I have some experience with that book.”

The sisters looked up to see Grams standing in the doorway to the attic. Her arms were folded across her chest.

“Apparently,” said Grams. “Phoebe isn’t the only one who cuts class.”

[Fourever Charmed]

lmao! Oh Penny, she's so in character in this chapter. Ya gotta love her. Maybe this is how she knew that Paige would come into their lives after Prue died, because she already found out about it in the past? (Oh. Time travel gives me a headache.) And I loved how Paige asked about The Woogy and Tempus, and Phoebe carefully avoided telling her about how he was destroyed turning back time to save Piper...only to kill Prue.

Awesome! Update A.S.A.P.

[noazmale]

EIGHT

“So you’re telling me you’ve come back in time?” asked Grams. “Like you did about twelve years ago?”

“Yes,” said Piper.

“Only, this time we didn’t do it,” said Phoebe. “Piper opened her yearbook and it just sort of happened. We don’t know how or why.”

“There must have been an enchantment on the book,” said Grams. “Sitting there waiting until a specific set of circumstances occurred.”

“But who did it?” asked Piper. “Aside from the Elders or the Power of Three who has the power to cast such a powerful spell?”

“I don’t know,” said Grams. “We need to get Prue back here. If you all came back together, we may need…

“Grams,” interrupted Piper, “Prue didn’t come with us.”

“Why not?” asked Grams. “If this spell or whatever it was brought both of you back why wouldn’t it bring…. Oh, I see.”

“She didn’t suffer,” said Phoebe. “It was over very quickly.”

“Well,” said Grams, a little saddened, “we always knew it was a possibility.” She looked at Paige. “You’re not a friend from school, are you?”

“No, Grams, I’m not,” said Paige.

“That’s why you looked so familiar,” said Grams. “You have Patty’s eyes.”

“And Sam’s mouth,” said Piper.

“Sam?” questioned Grams. “Oh I see. No wonder no one knew about you. The Elders would have a fit if they found out.”

“What are you doing home?” asked Phoebe. “Your women’s meetings always lasted all afternoon.”

“You mean my Wicca meeting?” asked Grams smiling.

“Wicca?” questions Piper. “You mean those meetings were actually a coven?”

“I am a high priestess,” said Grams. “What did you think I was a high Priestess of? That’s how I recognized the change in the two of you. There was power there that you never had before. I knew that wasn’t possible. So I came home early and found you upstairs.”

“And we thought we could hide it from you,” said Phoebe.

“You girls could never hide anything from me,” said Grams. “And now I have another granddaughter. For a little while at least.”

“I’m afraid when we first met I wasn’t very friendly to you,” said Paige.

“I’m sure I didn’t hold it against you,” said Grams. “You would have had to get used to me. They grew up with me. You would have had no idea who I was.”

“As I recall,” said Paige, “that’s the same thing you did say to me.”

“Well it appears you got over it,” said Grams smiling.

“Eventually,” said Paige, smiling back.

“Good,” said Grams. “Now what we need to figure out is how you got back here and why?”

“What about unbinding our powers?” Phoebe asked. “In these bodies we have no powers. Except for Paige’s White Lighter powers.”

“She can’t do that,” said Piper.

“Why not?” Paige asked.

“Because she didn’t do it before,” said Piper. “She told us that after she bound our powers as children, she never unbound them.”

“Besides,” said Grams. “If I do, you’ll have that warlock to contend with. And since Paige obviously doesn’t become a Charmed One for several years, you wouldn’t have the Power of Three to protect you against him. I’m afraid Piper is right. We’ll have to leave your powers bound.”

“It was just a thought,” said Phoebe.

“Well,” said Grams, “Obviously magic is involved. And without your powers, you’re going to need my help. So tell me exactly what happened just before you came back.”

[noazmale]

NINE

“Well,” said Grams, closing the Book of Shadows, “there doesn’t seem to be anything in here that gives us a clue. Whatever is going on it doesn’t seem to be anything in the book. Come on, let’s go downstairs. I think I have a way to find out.

They all went down to the living room. Grams pulled a map of San Francisco, similar to the one the sisters used for scrying. The she removed a crystal hanging around her neck. She held the crystal by the chain over the map and recited a spell.

“Sisters three come from the future have come,

“To perform a task left undone.

“Show us now what task this be,

“Reveal to us what we need to see.”

Suddenly the crystal was ripped from Grams hand and went flying across the room. It landed on the floor resting on some newspapers, next to the fireplace. Phoebe went to get the crystal.

“Well that’s new,” said Paige. “I’ve never seen that happen before.”

“Neither have I,” said Grams. “It should have shown us where you were supposed to go.”

“Maybe someone is using magic against us,” suggested Piper. “To keep us from finding out what it is we’re supposed to do.”

“I don’t think so,” said Phoebe, holding a newspaper up for them to see. “I think it worked just as it was supposed to.”

“What’s that?” asked Grams, looking a picture of a young girl on the front page.

“The latest victim of the serial killer,” said Phoebe. “The crystal was lying squarely on the picture.”

“You think we’re supposed to stop the killings?” asked Paige. “What about not being able to change the past?”

“Well,” said Piper, ”Grams’ magic is pretty strong. Almost as strong as the Power of Three. I agree with Phoebe. I’d say we were brought back here to do something about these murders.”

“But what about not changing the past?” asked Paige.

“Maybe you aren’t changing it,” said Grams.

“What do you mean?” asked Phoebe.

“What if you’re correcting it?” asked Grams. “What if someone else came back from the future to kill these girls? What if you were brought back to stop them and set things straight?

“Well this Glenda Johnson was the third victim,” said Piper looking at the paper. “If we’re supposed to stop the murders we’re just a little bit late.”

“Not if only the first three died initially,” said Grams. “It stands to reason whatever magic brought you here would have brought you in time to do whatever it is you were supposed to do. What if only the first three girls were murdered initially? What if someone came from the future and murdered the other two? You did say there were a total of five victims.”

“And whomever or whatever brought us back,” said Piper, “brought us back to protect the last two. Makes sense to me. It would explain why we didn’t we get here before the first three were killed.”

“So what we need to do now,” said Paige, “is figure out what all the victims have in common. Figure out why the killer targeted them?”

“As I recall,” said Piper, “there didn’t seem to be a pattern. Except that they all went to our high school. Other than that the police couldn’t figure out any motive behind the killings.”

“There’s got to be something,” said Grams. “They don’t seem to be random murders. Do you remember the names of the last two victims?”

“Let me think,” said Piper. “There was Michelle Holmes and, I think Carrie Parker. Yeah, those were the last two.”

“I think our first order of business,” said Grams, “is to find out what we can do about the first three victims. I think it’s time we paid a condolence call on the mothers of those girls.”

[noazmale]

TEN

Grams and the girls stood on the front porch of a house. When the door opened a woman about the girls’ mothers age answered. A tiny bell, hanging on the door, rang.

“Hello,” said Grams. “We’re looking for Karen Lynch,”

“I’m Karen Lynch,” said the woman.

“My name is Penny Halliwell,” said Grams. “These are my granddaughters Piper, Phoebe, and Paige. Piper was in the same class at school as your daughter, Terry. We just wanted to offer condolences on your loss. I lost my daughter a number of years ago. I know how trying this can be for you.”

“Please, come in,” said Karen.

The house was a small frame building only a single story high. It was modestly decorated. An open map of San Francisco lay on the coffee table. Grams and the sisters could smell incense burning.

“That’s very nice incense,” said Grams.

“It was Terry’s favorite,” said Karen

“I didn’t know Terry well,” said Piper. “It’s a big class and it’s hard to know everyone.”

“I appreciate your visit,” said Karen. “Terry’s father left several years ago. It’s been just her and me. It’s been very hard since…”

“I understand,” said Grams, looking around. “Have you lived in San Francisco long?”

“I grew up here,” said Karen.

“Are you planning on moving?” asked Paige. “ I noticed you have a map of San Francisco out?”

“Oh, uh, yes, I was thinking about it,” said Karen nervously. “There are a lot of memories in this house. Terry was born here. Sometimes it can be hard just to get up each morning.”

“I remember being like that after my daughter, Patty, died,” said Grams. “The girls were too young to really understand what was going on. But it gets easier with time.”

“So I’ve been told,” said Karen. “I have a support group of sorts. They’ve been a great help to me.”

“Not doubt,” said Grams. “Your support group. Have you or they had any luck? Finding the killer, I mean?”

“That’s the responsibility of the police,” said Karen.

“Normally, I’d agree with you,” said Grams. “But there must be something unusual about your daughters death or you wouldn’t be looking for him yourself. I just assumed your support group was probably helping you in that regard.”

“Well even if I did find him,” said Karen, “there’s not a lot I could do about it. Except turn him over to the police.”

“Well, for a normal killer, yes,” said Grams. “But not if he’s a demon.”

“Grams,” said Piper.

“Oh, it’s okay Piper,” said Grams. “She isn’t using that map to find a new house. Not with that crystal she has hanging around her neck. And that incense is incense for the dead. Not to mention the bell hanging on the door. Certain demons can be kept away with a bell. The sound causes them intense pain. Karen is a witch”

“Listen, I don’t know what you want,” started Karen nervously.

“It’s okay dear,” said Grams, pulling out a necklace of the triquetra she was wearing, “you’re in very good company.

“You’re a witch too?” asked Karen.

“Grams is a high priestess,” said Phoebe.

“Thank goodness,” said Karen. “Being a witch is not real popular in some circles. I thought maybe you were one of those nut cases.

“I’ve met my share of them,” said Grams

“Are you three witches too?” asked Karen of the girls.

“Sort of,” said Piper. “It’s a long story.”

“Three sisters all witches?” questioned Karen. “The granddaughters of a high priestess? You’re the Charmed Ones. Melinda Warrens’ prophecy has been fulfilled.”

“Well, I guess you could say that,” said Phoebe.

“Okay then,” said Grams. “All the reports indicate this is nothing more than a normal serial killer. If you’ve been scrying for a demon, there must be something that makes you think it’s a demon. Tell us everything you know about these murders. And what you suspect about the killer.

[Fourever Charmed]

Sorry, I just haven't had time to review the last two chapters until now. And low and behold, there's a third one. One of my favorite scenes was when Penny said that Paige had Patty's eyes, and then Piper blurted out that she also had Sam's mouth. lol! I'm not sure if that was a playful dig at Paige, or if she meant it literally, but either way it was adorable. And I thought the spell that Grams cast with the crystal in chapter nine was also extremely creative. (Not to mention I loved the fact that she was wearing it around her neck. I wish I would have thought of that before!) But I think the most creative chapter of the three was introducing everyone to one of the murdered girls' mothers, who's also a witch! Now that, I had not expected, and I LOVE the twist! I also liked how Grams carefully moved around the topic for a while and then just blurted it out, only for Karen to suddenly realize that the sisters are actually The Charmed Ones. (By the way, another thing I'd like to spotlight is the part when Grams introduced the girls, all of them, as her granddaughters. It was just so sweet that they should finally get some family time in like that. It's almost like Paige is getting to make some of her own "childhood" memories with her sisters.)

Update soon! ;D

[vanillabliss]

*claps* yeah, way good.