Time Trouble Part 1
(I do not own any part of Charmed. I just write about it. This continues a storyline begun in Degrees of Evil, and continued in several other stories).
She was running, and could feel the wind on her heels. To her right was her friend, around her were her enemies. She could feel the power of an energy ball behind her, and she instinctively dove behind cover. She looked over and saw her friend doing the same. She stood up and gestured, and one of the demons exploded. She dropped back down as the energy balls began to rain in. She looked over at her friend, who smiled. Suddenly, her friend disappeared, and only ash remained. She was screaming.screaming.
With a frightened scream, Piper sat straight up in bed. She could feel fear sweeping through her body. Her throat was tight, and her body shook in uncontrollable spasms. The fear hounded her, and surrounded her like a skintight suit. Piper couldn't breathe, couldn't think.
Suddenly, arms were around her, and Piper barely fought down another scream. Leo began to rock her, saying, "It's alright. Everything's fine. We're all safe. Calm down."
Slowly, the fear loosened its hold on her, and she could breathe and feel again. Tears began to slide down her face as she felt sadness for the woman she never met. And through it all Leo was there, rocking her back and forth and saying, "Everything is fine. Don't worry."
***
As Phoebe walked down the stairs, she said a cheerful, "Good morning," above the racket outside. She found everyone else already at the table. They all seemed happy, except for Piper, who was staring morosely at her coffee.
"How long do we have to listen to this racket?" Paige shouted.
"Only a couple more days," Phoebe shouted, "Cole is paying double to speed up the expansions on our house."
"Listen, I know the manor is a little crowded, especially with the new babies," Paige commented, "but I really don't like the idea of expanding the house like this. Especially using Cole's money."
"Look, Cole is moving in here, and he's right." Phoebe defended. "The manor needs more space if we're going to have two more babies here. And it's only two more bedrooms, a bathroom, and a few odds and ends. Cole can cover it. He invested well as the Source, and they've grown nicely. Although this will take a chunk out of it."
"Where is Cole anyway?" Paige asked.
"He had to go in early. His firm is about to enter a major lawsuit, and they want Cole as the lead lawyer," Phoebe replied proudly.
"I still think we shouldn't be using Cole's money," Paige said, "What do you think Piper?" When Piper made no reply, she turned and said, "Piper? PIPER!"
"What, huh, yeah." Piper said. The sisters looked closely, and they saw deep circles on Piper's eyes. They both sat down next to her.
"Another nightmare?" Phoebe asked sympathetically.
"Yes," Piper said. "I've had nightmares every night since the wedding. It seems like every time I close my eyes I see horrible things. I don't know what's going on, but we need to find out, because I really need some sleep."
"Have you tried sleeping pills?" Paige asked.
"Two nights ago, and the nightmares still came," Piper said.
"Well, maybe if we knew what you were dreaming, we could help," Phoebe offered.
"That's just it, I'm not really sure. I see battles and death and devastation. Leo, where could these be coming from?" Piper asked.
Leo looked at her, and said, "I don't know, but I think the Elders do."
"What, what do you mean?" Phoebe demanded.
"Well, after the third nightmare, I asked the Elders about it. I was afraid it was some sort of demonic threat. They were remarkably close mouthed about it, which makes me think they know something more." Leo replied.
"Well, that would almost certainly mean it is magical in nature," Paige said, "which means it will be in the Book of Shadows. Come on, let's go look."
"But, it's just nightmares," Piper complained.
Phoebe and Paige looked at each other, and then they each grabbed an arm and dragged Piper upstairs.
***
As she flipped through the Book, Paige asked, "Are you sure you don't have any clues about what you are dreaming? Where is it, when is it, etc?"
"Well, it looked a lot like San Francisco, only a lot more devastated. And as for when, your guess is as good as mine."
"What do you think, Leo?" Phoebe asked. "Are we talking alternate realities, or what?"
Paige looked up, and said, "Beats me." Suddenly, the Book began to turn by itself. Paige smiled, and said, "Works every time." When the Book came to a stop, she read the title, "Time Echoes?"
"What the heck is a Time Echo?" Piper asked.
Paige looked at her, and said, "I don't know. Just a second. 'When any event happens in time, a Temporal wave is sent both backwards and forwards. Now, most of the force is directed forward, which causes the Theory of Multiple Possibilities. However, a much smaller and weaker wave is sent backwards in time. If two people were close enough in brain wavelengths and magic, it is possible for a person in the past to receive the experiences of a person in the future, usually in dreams."
"Wait a second, are you saying I've been getting visions from the FUTURE!" Piper exclaimed. "But Phoebe's the one with the power of premonition. Why isn't she getting the future vision?"
"I don't know, and the Book doesn't say anything about it." Paige replied.
"Does it say how to turn off the nightmares?" Phoebe asked. Paige shook her head, and said, "No, no mention is made of that."
"You mean I'm stuck with these nightmares for God knows how long?" Piper asked. Suddenly, a pair of baby cries could be heard coming from her bedroom. Piper turned to the sisters, and said, "Come on, the babies call."
As the sisters walked into Piper's room, each mother moved to their respective infant and began to feed them. Piper looked up and said, "Paige, I can't accept that I can do nothing about these nightmares. There has to be something."
"Well, we could always go to the future and confront whoever or whatever is sending you back memories. However, I didn't see a spell that would do that."
"There was one, but it was a one time use spell," Phoebe explained. "And we used it already."
"Well, THERE has to be something we can do!" Piper said. Both babies stopped feeding, so Piper and Phoebe put them back in their cribs. Paige happened to be looking down at Gabriel and Melinda as Piper and Phoebe straightened, so only she saw their eyes begin to glow. "Um, guys." she began.
"What is that?" Phoebe exclaimed as she pointed. All three sisters looked at the spot, which appeared to be a small ripple in the air, as if something were there. The sisters cautiously approached, and watched as the air disturbance seemed to get stronger. Suddenly, the sisters felt an intense pull towards the disturbance. They tried to fight it, but within seconds the sisters were inside it.
Leo made a diving grab for them, but he missed them. He turned around, and looked at Melinda and Gabriel. Both had smiles on their faces, and then they went to sleep.
"We have GOT to stop talking around them," Leo muttered.
***
When the sisters could see again, they found themselves in their living room, sort of. While the room's dimensions were the same, everything was torn and ripped apart. Shattered pieces of furniture were throughout the floor, and there were several holes in the wall.
"Um, what happened?" Paige asked.
"Well, if I had to guess, I'd say we're where we wanted to be, courtesy of our overly helpful children," Phoebe commented. "By the way, does anyone know HOW we're supposed to get home?"
"I guess they'll bring us home when they're ready," Paige said slowly.
"Great, just great," Piper said, "Well, since we're stuck here, we may as well look around. Come on."
The sisters walked outside the house (which had the doors blown off), took one look around, and said, "My God." Everything around them was destroyed. There were crashed vehicles everywhere, and the majority of the houses were utterly ruined. The San Francisco skyline was smaller, and many of the building looked like they had lost the upper half. No one was moving, and several skeletons could be seen strewn around on the street.
Paige looked around and promptly puked. Piper and Phoebe were equally disgusted, and it was several moments before anyone could speak. "What happened to cause all of this?" Phoebe said in a sickened voice.
"I don't know," Piper replied, "But I don't think we'll learn just standing around here." Off in the distance, the sisters could hear what appeared to be fighting of some kind. Paige looked at her other sisters and asked, "Should we go for it?"
"I don't see that we have any other choice," Phoebe replied gravely, "We need to find out what happened, and only living people can tell us. Let's go."
***
About five minutes later, the sisters found themselves stepping into chaos. There were people fighting everywhere, all of them magical. At least 7 demons were on the field, and they were attacking about 9 witches. Energy balls were flying, as were a variety of projectiles. Right now, the witches seemed to be pinned inside a building.
Phoebe looked at her sisters and asked quietly, "Should we step in and interfere?"
Before either sister could respond, they felt themselves being shoved to the ground as someone whispered sharply, "Get down!"
The sisters turned around, and got a look at the person who had tackled them. The figure was of medium height and appeared to be female, but she wore full body armor (including a riot helmet), so everything else was obscured. The figure stared at them for a moment, and then asked, "What faction are you with? What are your names?"
"I don't know anything about factions, but my name is Phoebe. Phoebe Halliwell. These are my sisters Paige and Piper."
The figure seemed startled, and then said, "I don't believe it. Wait right here, I'm going to end this." The figure touched the side of her helmet, and then said in an amplified voice, "All units attack!" All the witches charged the demons with projectiles and powers flying. Two demons went down before they could even react, but soon the other 5 were opening fire.
"We have to help, or they'll be pulverized." Paige shouted. Indeed, one of the witches was about to be hit in the back with an energy ball. Paige gestured, shouted, "Energy Ball!", and redirected it back to the demon who threw it. Piper also gestured, and one of the demons exploded.
The remaining demons looked around, and then shimmered out. Before the sisters could say anything, the figure approached and said, "Follow me." She then began to walk briskly towards a building nearby. The other witches seemed to form up into a unit and left in another direction.
The figure lead them into the building, and then down some stairs. Only when they were in the basement did she seem to relax. "We made good time, so it will take a few moments for the reinforcements to find us. Now then, what are you doing here, and how did you get here?"
Phoebe opened her mouth, but Piper shushed her, "Before we say anything, I'd like to know who we're talking with. After all, how do we know which side you're on."
The figure stared at them for a few moments, and then said, "Fair enough." She reached up and pulled off her helmet, and Piper found herself staring at.HERSELF. No Piper corrected sharply. They looked very similar, but this woman was more fit, and had more scars. In addition, her hair was a slightly different color, and her eyes were not the same. Which meant.
The woman smiled, and said, "Hi Mom. It's been awhile."
TO BE CONTINUED.
(I do not own any part of Charmed. I just write about it. This continues a storyline begun in Degrees of Evil, and continued in several other stories).
She was running, and could feel the wind on her heels. To her right was her friend, around her were her enemies. She could feel the power of an energy ball behind her, and she instinctively dove behind cover. She looked over and saw her friend doing the same. She stood up and gestured, and one of the demons exploded. She dropped back down as the energy balls began to rain in. She looked over at her friend, who smiled. Suddenly, her friend disappeared, and only ash remained. She was screaming.screaming.
With a frightened scream, Piper sat straight up in bed. She could feel fear sweeping through her body. Her throat was tight, and her body shook in uncontrollable spasms. The fear hounded her, and surrounded her like a skintight suit. Piper couldn't breathe, couldn't think.
Suddenly, arms were around her, and Piper barely fought down another scream. Leo began to rock her, saying, "It's alright. Everything's fine. We're all safe. Calm down."
Slowly, the fear loosened its hold on her, and she could breathe and feel again. Tears began to slide down her face as she felt sadness for the woman she never met. And through it all Leo was there, rocking her back and forth and saying, "Everything is fine. Don't worry."
***
As Phoebe walked down the stairs, she said a cheerful, "Good morning," above the racket outside. She found everyone else already at the table. They all seemed happy, except for Piper, who was staring morosely at her coffee.
"How long do we have to listen to this racket?" Paige shouted.
"Only a couple more days," Phoebe shouted, "Cole is paying double to speed up the expansions on our house."
"Listen, I know the manor is a little crowded, especially with the new babies," Paige commented, "but I really don't like the idea of expanding the house like this. Especially using Cole's money."
"Look, Cole is moving in here, and he's right." Phoebe defended. "The manor needs more space if we're going to have two more babies here. And it's only two more bedrooms, a bathroom, and a few odds and ends. Cole can cover it. He invested well as the Source, and they've grown nicely. Although this will take a chunk out of it."
"Where is Cole anyway?" Paige asked.
"He had to go in early. His firm is about to enter a major lawsuit, and they want Cole as the lead lawyer," Phoebe replied proudly.
"I still think we shouldn't be using Cole's money," Paige said, "What do you think Piper?" When Piper made no reply, she turned and said, "Piper? PIPER!"
"What, huh, yeah." Piper said. The sisters looked closely, and they saw deep circles on Piper's eyes. They both sat down next to her.
"Another nightmare?" Phoebe asked sympathetically.
"Yes," Piper said. "I've had nightmares every night since the wedding. It seems like every time I close my eyes I see horrible things. I don't know what's going on, but we need to find out, because I really need some sleep."
"Have you tried sleeping pills?" Paige asked.
"Two nights ago, and the nightmares still came," Piper said.
"Well, maybe if we knew what you were dreaming, we could help," Phoebe offered.
"That's just it, I'm not really sure. I see battles and death and devastation. Leo, where could these be coming from?" Piper asked.
Leo looked at her, and said, "I don't know, but I think the Elders do."
"What, what do you mean?" Phoebe demanded.
"Well, after the third nightmare, I asked the Elders about it. I was afraid it was some sort of demonic threat. They were remarkably close mouthed about it, which makes me think they know something more." Leo replied.
"Well, that would almost certainly mean it is magical in nature," Paige said, "which means it will be in the Book of Shadows. Come on, let's go look."
"But, it's just nightmares," Piper complained.
Phoebe and Paige looked at each other, and then they each grabbed an arm and dragged Piper upstairs.
***
As she flipped through the Book, Paige asked, "Are you sure you don't have any clues about what you are dreaming? Where is it, when is it, etc?"
"Well, it looked a lot like San Francisco, only a lot more devastated. And as for when, your guess is as good as mine."
"What do you think, Leo?" Phoebe asked. "Are we talking alternate realities, or what?"
Paige looked up, and said, "Beats me." Suddenly, the Book began to turn by itself. Paige smiled, and said, "Works every time." When the Book came to a stop, she read the title, "Time Echoes?"
"What the heck is a Time Echo?" Piper asked.
Paige looked at her, and said, "I don't know. Just a second. 'When any event happens in time, a Temporal wave is sent both backwards and forwards. Now, most of the force is directed forward, which causes the Theory of Multiple Possibilities. However, a much smaller and weaker wave is sent backwards in time. If two people were close enough in brain wavelengths and magic, it is possible for a person in the past to receive the experiences of a person in the future, usually in dreams."
"Wait a second, are you saying I've been getting visions from the FUTURE!" Piper exclaimed. "But Phoebe's the one with the power of premonition. Why isn't she getting the future vision?"
"I don't know, and the Book doesn't say anything about it." Paige replied.
"Does it say how to turn off the nightmares?" Phoebe asked. Paige shook her head, and said, "No, no mention is made of that."
"You mean I'm stuck with these nightmares for God knows how long?" Piper asked. Suddenly, a pair of baby cries could be heard coming from her bedroom. Piper turned to the sisters, and said, "Come on, the babies call."
As the sisters walked into Piper's room, each mother moved to their respective infant and began to feed them. Piper looked up and said, "Paige, I can't accept that I can do nothing about these nightmares. There has to be something."
"Well, we could always go to the future and confront whoever or whatever is sending you back memories. However, I didn't see a spell that would do that."
"There was one, but it was a one time use spell," Phoebe explained. "And we used it already."
"Well, THERE has to be something we can do!" Piper said. Both babies stopped feeding, so Piper and Phoebe put them back in their cribs. Paige happened to be looking down at Gabriel and Melinda as Piper and Phoebe straightened, so only she saw their eyes begin to glow. "Um, guys." she began.
"What is that?" Phoebe exclaimed as she pointed. All three sisters looked at the spot, which appeared to be a small ripple in the air, as if something were there. The sisters cautiously approached, and watched as the air disturbance seemed to get stronger. Suddenly, the sisters felt an intense pull towards the disturbance. They tried to fight it, but within seconds the sisters were inside it.
Leo made a diving grab for them, but he missed them. He turned around, and looked at Melinda and Gabriel. Both had smiles on their faces, and then they went to sleep.
"We have GOT to stop talking around them," Leo muttered.
***
When the sisters could see again, they found themselves in their living room, sort of. While the room's dimensions were the same, everything was torn and ripped apart. Shattered pieces of furniture were throughout the floor, and there were several holes in the wall.
"Um, what happened?" Paige asked.
"Well, if I had to guess, I'd say we're where we wanted to be, courtesy of our overly helpful children," Phoebe commented. "By the way, does anyone know HOW we're supposed to get home?"
"I guess they'll bring us home when they're ready," Paige said slowly.
"Great, just great," Piper said, "Well, since we're stuck here, we may as well look around. Come on."
The sisters walked outside the house (which had the doors blown off), took one look around, and said, "My God." Everything around them was destroyed. There were crashed vehicles everywhere, and the majority of the houses were utterly ruined. The San Francisco skyline was smaller, and many of the building looked like they had lost the upper half. No one was moving, and several skeletons could be seen strewn around on the street.
Paige looked around and promptly puked. Piper and Phoebe were equally disgusted, and it was several moments before anyone could speak. "What happened to cause all of this?" Phoebe said in a sickened voice.
"I don't know," Piper replied, "But I don't think we'll learn just standing around here." Off in the distance, the sisters could hear what appeared to be fighting of some kind. Paige looked at her other sisters and asked, "Should we go for it?"
"I don't see that we have any other choice," Phoebe replied gravely, "We need to find out what happened, and only living people can tell us. Let's go."
***
About five minutes later, the sisters found themselves stepping into chaos. There were people fighting everywhere, all of them magical. At least 7 demons were on the field, and they were attacking about 9 witches. Energy balls were flying, as were a variety of projectiles. Right now, the witches seemed to be pinned inside a building.
Phoebe looked at her sisters and asked quietly, "Should we step in and interfere?"
Before either sister could respond, they felt themselves being shoved to the ground as someone whispered sharply, "Get down!"
The sisters turned around, and got a look at the person who had tackled them. The figure was of medium height and appeared to be female, but she wore full body armor (including a riot helmet), so everything else was obscured. The figure stared at them for a moment, and then asked, "What faction are you with? What are your names?"
"I don't know anything about factions, but my name is Phoebe. Phoebe Halliwell. These are my sisters Paige and Piper."
The figure seemed startled, and then said, "I don't believe it. Wait right here, I'm going to end this." The figure touched the side of her helmet, and then said in an amplified voice, "All units attack!" All the witches charged the demons with projectiles and powers flying. Two demons went down before they could even react, but soon the other 5 were opening fire.
"We have to help, or they'll be pulverized." Paige shouted. Indeed, one of the witches was about to be hit in the back with an energy ball. Paige gestured, shouted, "Energy Ball!", and redirected it back to the demon who threw it. Piper also gestured, and one of the demons exploded.
The remaining demons looked around, and then shimmered out. Before the sisters could say anything, the figure approached and said, "Follow me." She then began to walk briskly towards a building nearby. The other witches seemed to form up into a unit and left in another direction.
The figure lead them into the building, and then down some stairs. Only when they were in the basement did she seem to relax. "We made good time, so it will take a few moments for the reinforcements to find us. Now then, what are you doing here, and how did you get here?"
Phoebe opened her mouth, but Piper shushed her, "Before we say anything, I'd like to know who we're talking with. After all, how do we know which side you're on."
The figure stared at them for a few moments, and then said, "Fair enough." She reached up and pulled off her helmet, and Piper found herself staring at.HERSELF. No Piper corrected sharply. They looked very similar, but this woman was more fit, and had more scars. In addition, her hair was a slightly different color, and her eyes were not the same. Which meant.
The woman smiled, and said, "Hi Mom. It's been awhile."
TO BE CONTINUED.