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Calling Our Sister
By Rose
Disclaimer: I don't own anything, except the Wumpster demon, and the Wumpster demon vanquishing spell. All other characters, spells, and items are property of Aaron Spelling and the WB network.
Hey guys... This author has requested that you send all your comments about this story to the WWC fan forum. You can find her there under the username halliwellgirls . You can leave a post there for her in the Charmed Chat section.
Dedication: This story is dedicated to my wonderful editors; Amber, Joey, Mariah, and Tess, for being so helpful in preparing this story. And also to three wonderful actresses; Holly Marie Combs, Alyssa Milano, and Rose McGowan, for doing such a great job portraying my favorite TV characters.
"Phoebe, have you seen my
green spring jacket?" Paige shouted downstairs to her older sister.
"Phoebe Halliwell, did you,
quote, 'borrow', my ruby red lipstick again?" Their older sister, Piper
called from her room.
"Yes, I have and I did! The
jacket's in the front closet, and the lipstick's on my dresser." Phoebe
called from the kitchen.
Paige rushed downstairs,
"I'm late! Where's my watch?" she cried.
"Borrow mine, it's on the
counter." Phoebe offered.
"It's no use! I'm as good
as fired!" Paige complained, grabbing the watch and fastening it on her
wrist.
"Paige, relax, you're only
going to be a few minutes late. Here's your keys, drive safely, and I love
you." Phoebe said, handing Paige her keys.
"Thanks, I love you, too."
She headed for the door, and called out, "Bye, Piper!"
"Bye!" Piper called from
upstairs. Paige grabbed her coat, and left the house in a hurry. Phoebe
smiled, and turned back to washing the dishes.
A few minutes later, Piper
entered the kitchen, "Hey, you," Phoebe greeted her, "Did you find the
lipstick?"
"Yeah." Piper sounded glum.
"I talked to Cole this morning,
and he said he'll just be a few more days in Cleveland. Have you talked
to Leo?" Phoebe asked.
"He orbed in late last night...."
Piper began.
"He's back?!?" Phoebe exclaimed.
"For about five seconds.
Just to say hi." Piper finished. She looked sad.
"I know you miss him. I miss
Cole. But, you know, they'll be back..." Phoebe began.
"I do miss Leo, Phoebe, but
that's not why I'm sad. I dropped my wedding ring behind my dresser this
morning, and when I went to get it out, I found this." She handed Phoebe
Prue's favorite necklace with the silver chain.
"Prue's necklace. I-I haven't
seen that since...." Phoebe trailed off.
"Yeah, I-I took it out of
her jewelry box the morning after...." Piper trailed off.
"She died." Phoebe said,
tears coming to her eyes.
"And-and I put it on my dresser,
and it must have fallen behind it." Piper finished, tears welling up in
her eyes, too. She looked down, and then looked at Phoebe, "I miss her
so much, Pheebes, just so much." she sobbed.
Phoebe wrapped her older
sister in a big hug. "I know, so do I." she said, "But at least we have
each other."
"And Paige." Piper said,
breaking the hug.
"And Paige." Phoebe repeated,
smiling through her tears.
Piper wiped her eyes, "Well,
I've got to get to work." she said, reaching for her car keys.
"I'm going to the grocery
store in a little while. Do you need anything?" Phoebe asked.
"Just pick out something
really junky. I feel like having something really bad for me when I get
home." Piper said.
"Can do." Phoebe said. Piper
walked to the door, stopped, and walked back to Phoebe to give her another
hug.
"I love you, little sister."
Piper said.
"I love you, too, big sister."
Phoebe said.
"Bye." Piper said, and she
left the house.
Phoebe sighed, and finished
cleaning up the kitchen. She got the grocery list and her keys, and left
the house, too.
At the grocery store, Phoebe
looked around for the food they needed. She got everything on the list,
and checked it twice. Now all she needed was "Something really junky."
Phoebe muttered, and turned into the junk food aisle. No one was there
but an old man checking prices on the marshmallows. Phoebe turned, and
scanned the cookies for something very chocolaty. All of a sudden, she
was grabbed from behind.
A voice muttered in her ear,
"One Charmed One down, and you're next!" Phoebe managed to utter a scream
before she blacked out.
"Are you okay, lady?" a voice
asked. Phoebe opened her eyes, and saw several people standing over her.
Phoebe sat up, and shook
her head to get rid of the dizzy feeling, "Yeah, I guess I just got a little
dizzy that's all."
"Do you need to go to the
doctor?" a woman asked.
"No, I think I'll be okay.
I-I'll just go pay for my stuff." Phoebe said. She hurriedly made a quick
exit, leaving behind bewildered-looking shoppers.
Phoebe paid for her items,
packed the car, and sped home. She put the groceries away, and then called
Piper.
"Hello, P3." The sound of
Piper's voice soothed Phoebe's jittery nerves.
"Piper, we've got a demon
issue." Phoebe said, quickly.
"Oh, no, not with Leo and
Cole out of town. What happened?" Piper asked.
"I was grabbed from behind
at the grocery store. I even blacked out for awhile." Phoebe said.
"And you know it was a demon
because....?" Piper asked.
"He said, 'One Charmed One
down, and you're next.'" Phoebe said.
"But he just knocked you
out. He didn't kidnap you or anything." Piper pointed out.
"Piper! It was a demon. Take
my word for it." Phoebe insisted.
"Okay, okay, I need to finish
up my paperwork here. Why don't you go check the you-know-what and call
Paige, too. I'll be home in a half-hour or less." Piper said.
"Someone's listening, right?"
Phoebe asked.
"Uh-huh." Piper said.
"Okay, I'll call Paige and
check the Book. See you in a little while. I love you." Phoebe said.
"Love you, too, Pheebes,
bye." Piper hung up.
"Of course a demon would
show up when Cole and Leo aren't even here!"
Phoebe muttered, as she dialed
Paige's work number.
"Hello, South Bay Social
Services. Paige Matthews speaking." Paige's voice said a few moments later.
"Paige! We have a problem."
Phoebe said, urgently.
"Houston, we always have
a problem. What is it?" Paige asked.
"A demon attacked me in the
grocery store. He's trying to kill the Charmed Ones. Us." Phoebe said.
"Oh, wonderful. Just what
we needed with Leo and Cole out of town." Paige groaned.
"That's exactly what I said.
Piper told me she's coming home soon, so we can figure this out. Can you
get off work anytime soon?" Phoebe asked.
"Phoebe, I am hardly the
manager of this place like Piper is of her place. I can't just up and leave.
Especially since I was six minutes late this morning." Paige said.
"Well, can you try?" Phoebe
asked.
Paige sighed, "Okay, I'll
try to get home as soon as possible. Why don't you check with The Book
of Sha.. the Book, and I'll get home as soon as I can, okay, thank you,
bye." Paige hung up.
"Way to let a person get
a word in edgewise." Phoebe said to the receiver. She hung up the phone,
and dashed upstairs to the attic.
"Time travel spell, no, scavenger
demon, vanquished him, Gammill, vanquished him, Melinda Warren, impossible,
Sykes, vanquished him, spell to call a lost witch.. Prue." Phoebe said,
flipping pages. When she got to the last one, she stopped and let herself
get lost in memories of Prue.
"Pheebes?" Piper called from
downstairs.
"Up here!" Phoebe called
back. She quickly flipped to the next page in the Book.
Piper ran upstairs, "Hey,
find anything?" she asked.
"Not yet." Phoebe said, yawning,
as she looked down at the page.
Piper walked over to her
sister, "Well, I don't think reading about time loops is going to get us
anywhere." she said, "Let me look." Piper began flipping the pages rapidly.
"Stop!" Phoebe cried suddenly,
slamming her hand down on a page in the Book.
Piper read the caption, "The
Wumpster?" she asked, looking at Phoebe quizzically.
"That's the old guy in the
junk food aisle! And that's.. his demonic form." Phoebe said, yawning again.
"Scary." Piper observed.
"The Wumpster is a demon
who attacks witches and gradually takes over their bodies and steals their
strengths and powers until they die. His goal is to be the most powerful
demon in the world." Phoebe read. She and Piper looked at each other horrified.
"He's taking over my body
at this very minute!" Phoebe wailed.
"Calm down, it says here
that the demon can be vanquished with the Power of Three and this spell.
All we have to do is wait for Paige to get home, and then we have to say
the spell to get him out of your body and vanquish him." Piper said.
"Well, she'd better hurry.
I'm feeling a little tired." Phoebe yawned, sat down on the floor, and
rubbed her eyes, "So tired."
"Phoebe! You cannot fall
asleep!" Piper said, giving Phoebe a little shake, "Get up. Come on, let's
go call Paige again."
Piper helped Phoebe down
the attic steps, and they headed for the steps to the first floor.
"Piper, I'm so tired. Can't
I go to bed?" Phoebe mumbled, yawning hugely.
"No, Phoebe, let's go down
to the kitchen and call Paige. Come on." Piper said, and led her sister
all the way down to the kitchen. Once there, Phoebe headed for a chair,
and sat down. Piper grabbed the phone, and dialed Paige's work number.
"South Bay Social Services,
this is Paige M...." Paige began.
"Paige! This is Piper. You
need to come home now! Phoebe is in trouble!" Piper said, urgently.
"What happened?" Paige asked.
"This demon is slowly sucking
the life out of her, and we need the Power of Three to vanquish him. You
need to come home now!" Piper ordered.
"Okay, I'm on my way." Paige
said, and hung up the phone.
"Pheebes, she's on her way."
Piper turned around to look at her sister, who had lain her head down,
and closed her eyes.
"Phoebe!" Piper shouted,
ran to her sister, and began shaking her. Phoebe's only response was a
moan.
"Oh, my God, oh, my God."
Piper said frantically, and ran upstairs to get the Book of Shadows, which
she brought back down to the kitchen.
She quickly found the Wumpster
demon page, and began chanting with all her might, "Vanquish the Wumpster,
for once and for all. Vanquish this monster, to again hear our sister's
call." she chanted, not caring that the spell only worked with the Power
of Three.
Fifteen minutes later, Paige
came running in the house. "Piper! Phoebe!" she called.
"....vanquish this monster,
to again hear...." Paige heard Piper's quavering voice chanting in the
kitchen. Paige ran into the kitchen. Piper was sobbing, as she read the
spell over and over again.
"Piper? I'm here." Paige
said.
"Oh, thank God. I hope you're
not too late." Piper said, and went over to Phoebe, "Pheebes, Paige is
here. Wake up, sweetie." she whispered.
Paige crossed the kitchen
to her sisters. "Phoebe, wake up." she said, gently shaking her.
"Phoebe!" Piper cried, shaking
her, too.
"Do you think....?" Paige
began.
"No! She can't be gone! Leo!
Cole!" she cried.
"I don't think they can hear
you." Paige said.
"Yes, they can! They have
to! Leo! Cole!" Piper called again. Then she began to sob, "Paige, I don't
know what to do. We need the Power of Three to get the Wumpster demon out
of her body. Paige, I think we've lost her." Piper buried her face in her
hands. Paige hugged her sister, and then noticed a flurry of movement behind
her sister's back.
"Piper, look!" Paige said,
almost excitedly, as she broke the hug, and pointed behind Piper.
"What?" Piper said, lifting
her head.
"The Book! It's moving!"
she said, still pointing.
Piper whirled around. Sure
enough, the pages were flipping rapidly, almost as though an invisible
hand was turning them. Both sisters hurried to look, just as the flipping
stopped.
"To Call a Lost Witch? What
do we need that for?" Paige asked, mystified.
Piper was silent for a few
minutes. Then she gasped, "I know what it means!" she cried.
"Well?" Paige asked.
"It means that we're supposed
to call Prue back so we can use the Power of Three to save Phoebe! Quick,
we gotta get Phoebe to the attic!" she said.
Piper and Paige struggled
for five minutes to get Phoebe and the Book back to the attic. Piper ran
around gathering the three herbs needed for the spell; rosemary, cypress,
and yarrow root. She put them in a bowl, while Paige lit four candles in
a circle, one each for Prue, Piper, Phoebe, and Paige. Then Piper got an
athame, and she and Paige both pricked their fingers, and let their blood
spill into the bowl, while chanting, "Power of the witches rise. Course
unseen across the skies. Come to us, we call you near. Come to us, and
settle here. Blood to blood, I summon thee. Blood to blood, return to me."
There was a whirling noise,
and a big wind, and suddenly, in a mist of white light, Prue's ghostly
image appeared in the middle of the circle of candles.
"P-Prue." Piper whispered
softly.
"Piper, we don't have much
time." Prue said, and stepped outside the circle and became human again.
She reached for Piper's and Paige's hands, and the three of them began
to chant, "Vanquish the Wumpster, for once and for all. Vanquish this monster,
to again hear our sister's call."
A bright, white light began
slowly emerging from Phoebe's body.
"Keep chanting!" Piper shouted.
The sisters began again,
"Vanquish the Wumpster, for once and for all...."
Phoebe coughed, and began
to mumble along, her eyes still closed, "....Vanquish this monster, to
again hear our sister's call." the four sisters chanted together. The bright
light began to quiver and shake.
"Keep going!" Prue shouted.
"Vanquish the Wumpster, for
once and for all. Vanquish this monster, to again hear our sister's call!"
Prue, Piper, and Paige shouted with all their might, and Phoebe whispered
the words, her eyes still tightly closed.
The bright light quivered
even harder, and finally exploded. Phoebe began to cough violently. Prue,
Piper, and Paige rushed to their sister, and knelt down besides her.
Phoebe stopped coughing,
and opened her eyes. She squinted up at Prue, a very confused look on her
face. "Prue? Am I dead?" she asked.
Prue smiled, "No, you're
very much alive." she said, stroking Phoebe's cheek.
"We called her back to help
form the Power of Three link." Piper explained.
"But I can't stay any longer.
I need to get back." Prue said, and she stood up. Piper and Paige pulled
Phoebe to her feet.
"I love you, Pheebes." Prue
said, giving her a hug.
She turned to Piper, "I love
you, Pipey." she said, giving her a hug.
"No one's called me that
since I was, like, four." Piper said, sniffling.
"And Paige, it's very nice
to meet you." Prue said, giving Paige a hug, "Take care of Piper and Phoebe
for me, okay?" she asked.
"Sure." Paige said.
Prue stepped back inside
the circle, "Bye." she said, waving. Before she shimmered out, she made
the Power of Three sign with her hands.
Piper turned to Phoebe and
Paige. Without a word, the three enveloped each other in a three-way hug.
"I wish she could stay with
us." Piper said, softly.
"Me, too. But imagine what
other people would think when Prue, who's been gone for eight months, suddenly
came back." Phoebe said.
"I know, but I still miss
her." Piper said.
"I wish I could have known
her." Paige said, wistfully.
"Prue's always going to be
with us, in our hearts and in our memories." Phoebe said, as she crossed
the attic to a bookshelf, and picked out a photo album, "And we have pictures
of her to remember her by, too."
Piper smiled, "Come on, let's
share some of our memories with Paige." Piper said, smiling, as she reached
for her sisters' hands. The trio walked downstairs to the living room,
and snuggled up on the couch to look at pictures.