Post by Tim on Aug 17, 2016 18:35:39 GMT -5
DISCLAIMER: This story is based upon the series, Charmed, that was created by Constance M. Burge. All Charmed characters are the property of Spelling Productions.
It was a quiet day at the Manor, and all was peaceful. It had been several months since the Ultimate Battle and normality had resumed for the Halliwell sisters. Piper worked in her club and Leo was teaching at Magic School. Phoebe was continuing with her fabulous career and enjoying life with her very own Cupid. Paige and Henry lived close by, their own lives filled with the daily routine of social work and probation work.
Today, the sisters sat around having brunch while their husbands took Chris and Wyatt out for a ball game. “I miss this.” Paige said, looking at her sisters over a large mug of coffee.
“What, having good home cooked food?” asked Piper, teasing Paige about her lack of domesticity.
“No, I mean this!” Paige replied: “Us! Together! Talking and, you know, planning stuff!”
“I know what you mean.” Phoebe said mournfully. “Sometimes.....” she paused and sighed again. Piper frowned and pursed her lips. “You’ll get wrinkles.” said Phoebe.
“I’ll get botox!” Piper snapped. She stared at her sisters. “Do you mean to tell me that you actually miss Demon hunting? That you want to go back to the old days? That you want to risk your lives again?”
“No, no!” both Paige and Phoebe agreed, warily eyeing Piper’s hands . “It’s just that..” began Paige.
“Sometimes....” Phoebe said.
“There are times..” Paige continued.
“When quite frankly, it’s a bit boring!” Phoebe finished.
Piper sighed. “I do know what you mean. It does get boring.”
At this point, the air in the kitchen began to twinkle, and a shower of bright lights appeared. The sisters gaped in amazement. “Ohhhhh!” they gasped.
“Shiny!” Phoebe whispered to herself.
“A white lighter!” Paige whispered.
“A problem!” Piper muttered. As the sisters watched the lights coalesced into a familiar and welcoming form.
“PRUE!?” Piper and Phoebe said together.
“Hey, sis!” Prue said to Piper: “Long time no see!” Prue was then smothered as both Piper and Phoebe embraced her.
“My God, Prue! How we’ve missed you!” Phoebe said.
“I know, Pheebs! I’ve missed you too. However, I have peeked in from time to time, like Grams does.”
“Ahem!” Paige coughed, feeling a little left out of things.
“Oh, Paige, I’m so sorry!” Piper said, turning to her baby sister: “Paige, this is Prue!”
“Hi Paige!” Prue said, jumping in: “I’ve been wanting to meet you for ages now!” Prue walked over and gave Paige a hug: “I’ve heard so many nice things about you.”
“You have?” Paige asked.
“Yeah, from Mom, from Grams, and from your adoptive parents.”
“You’ve met my adoptive parents? How are they?”
“They’re doing great, Paige.” Prue replied: “They’re very proud of you!”
“I.... I....” Paige began, her eyes misting up.
“So, Prue, you’re a white lighter now?” Phoebe asked.
“Yep.” Prue replied: “I just joined up. However, before I officially start the job, I want to spend time with my sisters, ALL my sisters.”
“You know, that’s a good idea.” Piper said: “We need some sister time, just us sisters, together.
“What do you have in mind?” Phoebe asked.
“Well, we all have some vacation time coming, so how about we take some of it.”
“Yeah, that sounds nice.” Paige said, smiling.
Prue stood and watched as the sun slowly set over the majestic peaks. It had taken several days for Piper, Phoebe, and Paige to make arrangements to take time off of their respective jobs (not so hard for Piper, since she owned the club she worked at). During that time, Prue had caught up on old times with Leo, played with Wyatt and Chris, and had met both Coop and Henry. Phoebe did well. Prue thought to herself: Coop seems like a nice guy. Here I thought she’d never settle down. Once all the arrangements were taken care of, the four Halliwell sisters had piled into Piper’s jeep and headed for the hills, literally (both Prue and Paige had offered to orb them, but her sisters had insisted on doing things the old fashioned way). Now there were here, on their “sisters only” vacation, and were determined to enjoy every minute of it.
Soon after, dinner was served over a roaring camp fire. “So, what are the plans for tomorrow?” Piper asked.
“I was thinking we should explore those caves we found nearby.” Paige suggested: “We might find some interesting stuff in there, maybe fossils.”
“Sounds good to me.” Prue said: “What do you think, Phoebe?” There was no answer. Prue, Piper, and Paige looked over to see Phoebe on her laptop, that she had insisted on bringing with her. Phoebe had been so engrossed that she had failed to hear her sisters talking. “PHEEBS!” Prue shouted.
“Huh? What?” Phoebe said, looking up from the laptop.
“I thought we agreed NOT to bring work with us.” Piper said.
“Oh, this isn’t work.” Phoebe said: “I’m in a private chat with Coop. He just told me a funny joke.”
Modern technology. Piper thought: Getting away from it all is not what is used to be.
“Do you want to explore those caves we found tomorrow, Pheebs?” Prue asked.
“Uh, sure.” Phoebe replied and immediately returned her attention to the laptop.
“Foods up.” Piper said and the aroma of the meal was enough to finally draw Phoebe away from her computer and back to the vacation.
A couple of days later, an early morning call of nature roused Phoebe from her sleep, and she crawled out of the tent she was sharing with Paige into the early morning light. Looking over, she saw no movement from Prue and Piper’s tent. No doubt the two of them were still sound asleep. Phoebe quickly moved off to find a private spot to answer the call. She was just arriving back at camp, when she saw the storm clouds in the distance. Oh no, don’t tell me it’s gonna rain. Phoebe thought. However, the clouds seemed content to remain over the mountain peaks, and not come any closer. Good, now stay there. Phoebe thought.
The clouds were still there, rumbling and producing the odd bolt of lighting, when breakfast was being served. “Gee, I hope it doesn’t storm on us.” Paige said as she watched the clouds.
“I don’t think it is.” Phoebe replied: “That storm system has been there a few hours. It hasn’t moved at all.”
“It hasn’t.” Piper said: “Don’t you all find that strange? Aren’t storms supposed to move with the weather fronts?”
“Yeah, they do.” Prue said: “However, I don’t think that’s a normal storm. Look!” Prue pointed and as the sisters watched, a large gray object emerged from the storms clouds and drifted towards the sisters.
“What the hell is that thing?” Paige asked.
“It’s a Zeppelin.” Prue said: “An early air ship.”
“You mean like a blimp?” Paige asked, her eyes full of questions.
“Yeah, something like that.”
“Well, what is it doing here?” Phoebe wondered.
“Maybe there’s an air show somewhere, and it got knocked off course.” Piper suggested.
“That might be it.” Prue said as the air ship passed over their campsite and headed for a nearby valley.
“Look, it’s landing.” Phoebe said.
“Let’s go see if we can lend a hand.” Paige suggested.
The four Halliwell sisters approached the air ship, which had now touched down in the valley. As they watched, a man in a strange uniform got out and began checking the air ship. “Can we help you?” Prue asked, once the sisters got close enough.
“Bloody hell, you ladies gave me a start!” the man replied in a crisp British accent: “I’m Captain William Terrence Decker, of the Royal Flying Corps, by the way. You can call me Terry.”
“I’m Prue Halliwell, and these are my sisters, Piper, Phoebe, and Paige.” Introductions were quickly made.
“Right. Could you tell me where I am. Bloody storm fouled up my navigation equipment.” Terry said.
“You’re in the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range, in California.” Phoebe replied.
“California!?” Terry said with astonishment: “How could I have gotten THAT far off course?”
“Well, where were you before you ended up here?” Paige asked.
“Off the east coast of England, over the North Sea. We were on patrol, scouting for enemy subs, when this storm suddenly came up all around us.”
“Enemy subs!?” Prue asked: “Uh, Terry, what year is it?”
“What year?” Terry asked, his face full of amusement: “It’s 1915, of course!”
“1915!?” Paige asked: “It’s...” before Paige could say another word, Prue clamped a hand over her mouth. “Will you excuse us for a few moments.” she said to Terry and pulled her sisters off with her to have a private talk.
Strange lot. Terry thought.
“1915! He said it was 1915. That means he’s from World War I.” Phoebe said, once she and her sisters were out of earshot of Terry.
“He’s not only thousands of miles off course, but more than ninety years in the future.” Paige added.
“How did this happen?” Piper asked.
“A time rip.” Prue said.
“A what?” Phoebe asked.
“A time rip.” Prue repeated: “The Elders told me about them. They are a rare phenomenon, and they often appear in storm systems. They can transport people and things vast distances through time and space. Looks like our new friend here had the misfortune to fly through one.”
“So what do we do with him?” Phoebe asked.
“Well, the storm systems is still there.” Prue said: “Time rips can stay open for days at a time. We may be able to get Terry back to his own time, without incident.”
Terry was still by his air ship, when the Halliwell sisters returned. “So, can you ladies help me?” he asked.
“We just might be able to.” Prue said: “Terry, what
happened after the storm came up.”
“Well, it began to force us down towards the sea.” Terry replied: “I ordered my crew to bail out. Me, being the captain, stayed aboard. I thought I could ride out the storm and pick up my crew later. However, I didn’t count on ending up here in America!”
“Well, don’t ask me to explain, but if you fly back into the storm, it should get you home.” Prue said.
“I don’t know.” Terry said: “Even if I could get back, the ship was damaged. I’m going to need help flying it.”
“We’ll help you.” Prue said.
“We will?” Piper asked.
“Sure, we can help get Terry home, right.” Prue said. I can orb us all out, don’t forget. she added in her mind. She saw that her sisters did grasp what she meant.
“Women flying an air ship?” Terry asked: “I’m sorry, but that sounds...”
“Oh, Terry, you do NOT want to go there!” Phoebe warned.
“Huh?”
“Let’s just say that women have come a long way since your time.” Phoebe said.
“My time? I don’t understand.” Terry said.
“What Phoebe means is that here in America, women can do a lot of the same jobs men can.” Prue said, quickly jumping in: “Trust us, we can handle it.”
“Well, I really don’t have much of a choice.” Terry said.
“Damn straight.” Phoebe muttered.
“Okay, let’s get busy.” Piper said.
“Well, this vacation is sure turning out to be more interesting than I though it would be.” Paige said.
The Halliwell sisters were quick learners and soon they, with Terry’s help, got the ship in the air again. “Here we go.” Terry said as they entered the storm clouds. The ship began to rock and lurch.
“I think I’m gonna be air sick.” Phoebe said, clutching her stomach.
“Easy, Pheebs.” Piper said: “It shouldn’t be...” However, before Piper could get any further, the ship lurched over sideways, and a bright light encompassed the bridge.
“What was that?” Paige asked, once the four Halliwells had regained their footing.
“We did it!” Terry suddenly shouted: “I don’t know how, but you got me back!” he pointed out the window and the girls saw a sea, and a coastline rapidly approaching.
This is not good! Prue thought: I can’t orb, and that can mean only one thing!
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking.” Phoebe whispered to Piper.
“Yeah, Pheebs, I am. I think we’ve just taken a trip nearly one hundred years into the past.” Piper whispered back.
“I was afraid you were gonna say that.”
Terry managed to get the ship down at an airbase, near the coast. He and the Halliwell sisters got out, and were suddenly surrounded by soldiers.
“Decker, I thought we’d lost you for sure.” An official looking man said: “We managed to rescue your crew at sea. They said...” the man broke off when he saw the four Halliwell sisters: “Hello, who are these ladies?”
“They helped me get back, Colonel Ransome.” Terry replied: “I owe them.”
“Still, we don’t know who they are.” Ransome said. He gestured and soon the Halliwells were surrounded by armed soldiers.
“Is this necessary?” Terry asked.
“It is.” Ransome said: “They might be German agents.”
“We are not! We’re Americans!” Phoebe declared.
“Americans? What are you doing here?” Ransome asked.
“Well...” Phoebe began and broke off. She remembered long ago high school history lessons: If we’re in 1915, that means America doesn’t enter the war for another two years! Of course, I can’t tell them that!
“Colonel, I must insist...” Terry began, but Ransome cut him off.
“I’m sorry, Decker, but my hands are tied. The Secretary Of War himself is visiting this base today. I cannot take any chances of a security breach now.” Ransome made a gesture and the four sisters were quickly marched off.
The Halliwells were taken to an unused room and locked in. The looked around, and saw the calendar on the wall. It confirmed what they already knew, that they were now in the year 1915. “Great!” Piper said: “We’re stuck! Our powers don’t work in the past.” she looked at Prue: “How about your powers?”
“Sorry, Piper, same rules apply to white lighters.” Prue said: “In 1915, I’m just another human.”
“So, how do we get back to our time?” Paige asked.
“The same way we got here.” Prue said: “Through the time rip.”
“Yes, but I don’t think those soldiers out there are going make that easy for us. Namely, the locked door and the armed guard beyond it.” Piper said: If only I could use my freezing power. she thought.
“Hey, look at this!” Phoebe said. She was looking out a barred window. Her sisters quickly crowded around her and looked out. A group of soldiers were escorting an important looking man.
“They did say some bigwig was visiting here today.” Paige said: “I guess that’s him.”
“It sure is.” Phoebe replied as she continued to stare at the man. He looked familiar, like she had seen pictures of him in history books somewhere. As Phoebe watched, the man pulled out a cigar and proceeded to light it, and that is when it hit home to her. He was younger and thinner than he appeared in the pictures she had seen of him, but there was no mistaking whom she was looking at: “It’s Winston Churchill! The Secretary Of War is Winston Churchill himself!”
“Winston Churchill?” Paige said: “I thought he was famous in World War II. Isn’t this World War I?”
“He was Prime Minister of Great Britain in World War II.” Phoebe pointed out: “However, that was later in his career. At this point, he was Secretary Of War, until Gallipoli, that is. I think that happens this year sometime.”
“How do you know so much about this, Pheebs?” Prue asked.
“I did a book report on Winston Churchill in high school.” Phoebe replied: “You see, Prue, I wasn’t goofing off ALL the time back then.”
“No, just most of the time.”
“Bleh!” Phoebe said, sticking her tongue out at Prue.
“So, how do we get out of here?” Piper asked.
“Maybe I can do something about that.” Phoebe said as she headed over to the door: “These old hinges...” she began to dig through her pockets and soon pulled out her nail file. As her sisters watched, Phoebe began to slowly try to loosen the door hinges. It took a while, but Phoebe slowly made progress. “I’ve almost got it!” Phoebe said and then smiled as she managed to remove the hinges.
“Pheebs, you never cease to amaze me.” Piper said.
“Aw, it’s nothing.” Phoebe replied.
“Let’s go.” Prue said. The quietly removed the door and saw the armed guard. Luckily, he had his back to them.
“Excuse me.” Paige said.
“What?” the guard turned and was quickly dispatched by a karate kick from Phoebe. The sisters watched as the guard fell down, unconscious.
“Bet he wasn’t expecting a lady to be so tough.” Paige said as the four sisters made their escape. Soon, the Halliwells made it out into the corridor and they were wondering what to do next, when the unexpected happened, Phoebe had a vision.
Winston Churchill was being stabbed to death, by what appeared to be a base mechanic.
“Oh my God!” Phoebe said, once the vision had ended.
“What is it, Phoebe?” Paige asked.
“I had a vision.” Phoebe replied.
“That’s impossible! Our powers never worked in the past before.” Piper said.
“Well, none the less, I had a vision!” Phoebe said and went on to describe what she had seen.
“Whoa?” Paige said: “This is bad.”
“I know.” Phoebe replied: “We gotta get to this guy, before he gets to Churchill!”
“I don’t understand.” Piper said: “How can Churchill possibly be killed in 1915? We know he is still alive in World War II?”
“Yeah, it doesn’t make any sense.” Paige added.
“Uh, can we discuss this later.” Prue said: “We have a future Prime Minister to save. Let’s go!”
To the base personnel, he was Henry Miller, a mechanic, but his real name was Kalsha, a Demon, and he was here to change history. Bah! Let them think they've won! Kalsha thought: Once I kill the human known as Winston Churchill, I will have victory. Without Churchill to lead Britain in 1940, the country will fall to Hitler. Germany will win World War II, and chaos will reign supreme! HA! HA! HA! Kalsha slowly made his way down the hall, but was soon face to face with the Halliwell sisters.
“That’s him!” Phoebe said: “That’s the guy I saw in my vision!”
“The Charmed Ones! Here!?” Kalsha said.
“Whoa, you know us?” Paige asked.
“Of course, all Demons know about the Charmed Ones. I am Kalsha.” Kalsha said as he pulled out a bayonet: “I also happen to know that your powers don’t work in the past, so you are helpless to stop me!”
“Why are you changing history?” Paige asked.
“Because the Underworld has become weak and divided, which allowed me to sneak into the lair of Tempus and use his magic artifacts to send myself to this time. Once I change history, I will return and make it strong again, strong enough to rule the new world of chaos that my changing of history will create!”
“Guess again.” Piper said.
“Oh, and how will you stop me?” Kalsha asked.
“Like this.” Prue said and threw a punch that caught the Demon off guard. Kalsha howled and dropped the bayonet. Before he could have a chance to recover, Paige grabbed the bayonet and shoved it right into the Demon’s chest.
“ARRRRGHHHH!!” Kalsha screamed as he exploded into flames and vanished.
“Man, I miss kicking Demon butt!” Phoebe said. Suddenly, all four sisters were enveloped in a strange mist. They lost their bearings for a moment or so, and when the mist cleared, the sisters were...
...safely deposited back in the Sierra Nevada Mountains in the 21st Century. “We’re back in our own time!” Paige said.
“How is that possible?” Phoebe asked.
“I guess vanquishing Kalsha was the key to sending us home.” Prue said.
“Yeah, but why was it the key?” Piper asked.
“If we hadn’t gone back in time, I would never have had that vision, and Winston Churchill would have been murdered in 1915.” Phoebe said: “History would have been seriously screwed.”
“I know.” Prue said.
“So, our going back to 1915 was part of history, it was supposed to happen?” Piper wondered.
“Not really.” Prue said: “That Demon was screwing with time, we went back and fixed it.”
“Yes, but HOW and WHY were we sent back?” Piper asked.
“Yeah, why did we just happen to be in the right place when that time rip appeared. How did I have that vision?” Phoebe added.
“It does seem just a little too convenient.” Paige said.
“I don’t know.” Prue said: “Maybe some things are better left to mystery. Anyway, let’s get back to our vacation.”
From a nearby mountain top, Cole Turner smiled as he watched his ex-wife and her sisters move away. Oh, Phoebe, I wish I could tell you. Cole thought.
“Well done.” a man in white said as he appeared next to Cole: “You successfully completed your first assignment.”
“Thank you, Vincent.” Cole said: “I think I’m gonna like being a Time Watcher. It beats being stuck in that void between life and death, anyway. I’m grateful to you for recruiting me. I promise that this time, I will do good, forever.”
“Yes, it is an important job we have.” Vincent said: “Thanks to us, history will remain on it’s proper course. Although, it was risky for you to involve your ex-wife and her sisters in this instance.”
“I know. It was risky of me arranging for them to be sent back to 1915, however, it worked.” Cole replied: “Also, I was able to reactivate Phoebe’s vision powers, so they would work in the past, which helped them, and us, stop Kalsha from changing history.” He smiled sadly.
“Regrets?” Vincent asked.
“A little.” Cole said: “I know that Phoebe’s heart belongs to someone else now, and I’m happy for her. However, I still have feelings for her in my heart. If it wasn’t for her, and the love we shared, I would still be Belthazor and killing innocent people. I owe her so much.”
“I know, but you have your memories. Treasure those.” Vincent said: “Come, Cole, we have much to do to keep history on track.” The two of them dematerialized.
“Who are my favourite nephews?” Prue said as she held little Wyatt and Chris in her arms. The sisters had gotten back from their vacation and had told their spouses what had happened.
“Sounds like you had an interesting time.” Leo said, smiling.
“Interesting doesn’t even begin to explain it.” Piper said.
“Yeah, it’s not every day that you save an important historical figure.” Phoebe added.
“Well, Phoebe, Paige, it looks like you two got your wish!” Piper said.
“How so?” Paige asked.
“Well, you did say things were getting boring!” Piper said with a smile.
“Yeah, we did.” Phoebe said: “I have to admit, defeating that Demon felt good. Maybe we can do this again someday.” Her sisters nodded in agreement.
Soon after, Piper, Phoebe, and Paige had gathered to say good-bye to Prue. “Please come and visit again.” Piper said as she gave her big sister a hug.
“I will.” Prue replied.
“I’ll miss you.” Phoebe said, being the next to hug Prue.
“I will miss you too, Pheebs.”
“It was finally nice to meet you.” Paige said, being the last to hug Prue.
“Ditto.” Prue replied and then prepared to orb out.
“Prue, wait, I have a gift for you!” Piper suddenly said and handed Prue a gift wrapped box. As Piper, Phoebe, and Paige watched, Prue opened her gift and smiled at what she saw.
“New high heels!” Prue declared.
“Well, they always were your favourite style of shoes.” Piper said.
“Yep, you’ll be the talk of the Spirit World.” Phoebe said, smiling.
“Aw, you three!” Prue said as she hugged her sisters one last time.
SAN FRANCISCO: PRESENT DAY
It was a quiet day at the Manor, and all was peaceful. It had been several months since the Ultimate Battle and normality had resumed for the Halliwell sisters. Piper worked in her club and Leo was teaching at Magic School. Phoebe was continuing with her fabulous career and enjoying life with her very own Cupid. Paige and Henry lived close by, their own lives filled with the daily routine of social work and probation work.
Today, the sisters sat around having brunch while their husbands took Chris and Wyatt out for a ball game. “I miss this.” Paige said, looking at her sisters over a large mug of coffee.
“What, having good home cooked food?” asked Piper, teasing Paige about her lack of domesticity.
“No, I mean this!” Paige replied: “Us! Together! Talking and, you know, planning stuff!”
“I know what you mean.” Phoebe said mournfully. “Sometimes.....” she paused and sighed again. Piper frowned and pursed her lips. “You’ll get wrinkles.” said Phoebe.
“I’ll get botox!” Piper snapped. She stared at her sisters. “Do you mean to tell me that you actually miss Demon hunting? That you want to go back to the old days? That you want to risk your lives again?”
“No, no!” both Paige and Phoebe agreed, warily eyeing Piper’s hands . “It’s just that..” began Paige.
“Sometimes....” Phoebe said.
“There are times..” Paige continued.
“When quite frankly, it’s a bit boring!” Phoebe finished.
Piper sighed. “I do know what you mean. It does get boring.”
At this point, the air in the kitchen began to twinkle, and a shower of bright lights appeared. The sisters gaped in amazement. “Ohhhhh!” they gasped.
“Shiny!” Phoebe whispered to herself.
“A white lighter!” Paige whispered.
“A problem!” Piper muttered. As the sisters watched the lights coalesced into a familiar and welcoming form.
“PRUE!?” Piper and Phoebe said together.
“Hey, sis!” Prue said to Piper: “Long time no see!” Prue was then smothered as both Piper and Phoebe embraced her.
“My God, Prue! How we’ve missed you!” Phoebe said.
“I know, Pheebs! I’ve missed you too. However, I have peeked in from time to time, like Grams does.”
“Ahem!” Paige coughed, feeling a little left out of things.
“Oh, Paige, I’m so sorry!” Piper said, turning to her baby sister: “Paige, this is Prue!”
“Hi Paige!” Prue said, jumping in: “I’ve been wanting to meet you for ages now!” Prue walked over and gave Paige a hug: “I’ve heard so many nice things about you.”
“You have?” Paige asked.
“Yeah, from Mom, from Grams, and from your adoptive parents.”
“You’ve met my adoptive parents? How are they?”
“They’re doing great, Paige.” Prue replied: “They’re very proud of you!”
“I.... I....” Paige began, her eyes misting up.
“So, Prue, you’re a white lighter now?” Phoebe asked.
“Yep.” Prue replied: “I just joined up. However, before I officially start the job, I want to spend time with my sisters, ALL my sisters.”
“You know, that’s a good idea.” Piper said: “We need some sister time, just us sisters, together.
“What do you have in mind?” Phoebe asked.
“Well, we all have some vacation time coming, so how about we take some of it.”
“Yeah, that sounds nice.” Paige said, smiling.
SIERRA NEVADA MOUNTAINS: SEVERAL DAYS LATER
Prue stood and watched as the sun slowly set over the majestic peaks. It had taken several days for Piper, Phoebe, and Paige to make arrangements to take time off of their respective jobs (not so hard for Piper, since she owned the club she worked at). During that time, Prue had caught up on old times with Leo, played with Wyatt and Chris, and had met both Coop and Henry. Phoebe did well. Prue thought to herself: Coop seems like a nice guy. Here I thought she’d never settle down. Once all the arrangements were taken care of, the four Halliwell sisters had piled into Piper’s jeep and headed for the hills, literally (both Prue and Paige had offered to orb them, but her sisters had insisted on doing things the old fashioned way). Now there were here, on their “sisters only” vacation, and were determined to enjoy every minute of it.
Soon after, dinner was served over a roaring camp fire. “So, what are the plans for tomorrow?” Piper asked.
“I was thinking we should explore those caves we found nearby.” Paige suggested: “We might find some interesting stuff in there, maybe fossils.”
“Sounds good to me.” Prue said: “What do you think, Phoebe?” There was no answer. Prue, Piper, and Paige looked over to see Phoebe on her laptop, that she had insisted on bringing with her. Phoebe had been so engrossed that she had failed to hear her sisters talking. “PHEEBS!” Prue shouted.
“Huh? What?” Phoebe said, looking up from the laptop.
“I thought we agreed NOT to bring work with us.” Piper said.
“Oh, this isn’t work.” Phoebe said: “I’m in a private chat with Coop. He just told me a funny joke.”
Modern technology. Piper thought: Getting away from it all is not what is used to be.
“Do you want to explore those caves we found tomorrow, Pheebs?” Prue asked.
“Uh, sure.” Phoebe replied and immediately returned her attention to the laptop.
“Foods up.” Piper said and the aroma of the meal was enough to finally draw Phoebe away from her computer and back to the vacation.
A couple of days later, an early morning call of nature roused Phoebe from her sleep, and she crawled out of the tent she was sharing with Paige into the early morning light. Looking over, she saw no movement from Prue and Piper’s tent. No doubt the two of them were still sound asleep. Phoebe quickly moved off to find a private spot to answer the call. She was just arriving back at camp, when she saw the storm clouds in the distance. Oh no, don’t tell me it’s gonna rain. Phoebe thought. However, the clouds seemed content to remain over the mountain peaks, and not come any closer. Good, now stay there. Phoebe thought.
The clouds were still there, rumbling and producing the odd bolt of lighting, when breakfast was being served. “Gee, I hope it doesn’t storm on us.” Paige said as she watched the clouds.
“I don’t think it is.” Phoebe replied: “That storm system has been there a few hours. It hasn’t moved at all.”
“It hasn’t.” Piper said: “Don’t you all find that strange? Aren’t storms supposed to move with the weather fronts?”
“Yeah, they do.” Prue said: “However, I don’t think that’s a normal storm. Look!” Prue pointed and as the sisters watched, a large gray object emerged from the storms clouds and drifted towards the sisters.
“What the hell is that thing?” Paige asked.
“It’s a Zeppelin.” Prue said: “An early air ship.”
“You mean like a blimp?” Paige asked, her eyes full of questions.
“Yeah, something like that.”
“Well, what is it doing here?” Phoebe wondered.
“Maybe there’s an air show somewhere, and it got knocked off course.” Piper suggested.
“That might be it.” Prue said as the air ship passed over their campsite and headed for a nearby valley.
“Look, it’s landing.” Phoebe said.
“Let’s go see if we can lend a hand.” Paige suggested.
The four Halliwell sisters approached the air ship, which had now touched down in the valley. As they watched, a man in a strange uniform got out and began checking the air ship. “Can we help you?” Prue asked, once the sisters got close enough.
“Bloody hell, you ladies gave me a start!” the man replied in a crisp British accent: “I’m Captain William Terrence Decker, of the Royal Flying Corps, by the way. You can call me Terry.”
“I’m Prue Halliwell, and these are my sisters, Piper, Phoebe, and Paige.” Introductions were quickly made.
“Right. Could you tell me where I am. Bloody storm fouled up my navigation equipment.” Terry said.
“You’re in the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range, in California.” Phoebe replied.
“California!?” Terry said with astonishment: “How could I have gotten THAT far off course?”
“Well, where were you before you ended up here?” Paige asked.
“Off the east coast of England, over the North Sea. We were on patrol, scouting for enemy subs, when this storm suddenly came up all around us.”
“Enemy subs!?” Prue asked: “Uh, Terry, what year is it?”
“What year?” Terry asked, his face full of amusement: “It’s 1915, of course!”
“1915!?” Paige asked: “It’s...” before Paige could say another word, Prue clamped a hand over her mouth. “Will you excuse us for a few moments.” she said to Terry and pulled her sisters off with her to have a private talk.
Strange lot. Terry thought.
“1915! He said it was 1915. That means he’s from World War I.” Phoebe said, once she and her sisters were out of earshot of Terry.
“He’s not only thousands of miles off course, but more than ninety years in the future.” Paige added.
“How did this happen?” Piper asked.
“A time rip.” Prue said.
“A what?” Phoebe asked.
“A time rip.” Prue repeated: “The Elders told me about them. They are a rare phenomenon, and they often appear in storm systems. They can transport people and things vast distances through time and space. Looks like our new friend here had the misfortune to fly through one.”
“So what do we do with him?” Phoebe asked.
“Well, the storm systems is still there.” Prue said: “Time rips can stay open for days at a time. We may be able to get Terry back to his own time, without incident.”
Terry was still by his air ship, when the Halliwell sisters returned. “So, can you ladies help me?” he asked.
“We just might be able to.” Prue said: “Terry, what
happened after the storm came up.”
“Well, it began to force us down towards the sea.” Terry replied: “I ordered my crew to bail out. Me, being the captain, stayed aboard. I thought I could ride out the storm and pick up my crew later. However, I didn’t count on ending up here in America!”
“Well, don’t ask me to explain, but if you fly back into the storm, it should get you home.” Prue said.
“I don’t know.” Terry said: “Even if I could get back, the ship was damaged. I’m going to need help flying it.”
“We’ll help you.” Prue said.
“We will?” Piper asked.
“Sure, we can help get Terry home, right.” Prue said. I can orb us all out, don’t forget. she added in her mind. She saw that her sisters did grasp what she meant.
“Women flying an air ship?” Terry asked: “I’m sorry, but that sounds...”
“Oh, Terry, you do NOT want to go there!” Phoebe warned.
“Huh?”
“Let’s just say that women have come a long way since your time.” Phoebe said.
“My time? I don’t understand.” Terry said.
“What Phoebe means is that here in America, women can do a lot of the same jobs men can.” Prue said, quickly jumping in: “Trust us, we can handle it.”
“Well, I really don’t have much of a choice.” Terry said.
“Damn straight.” Phoebe muttered.
“Okay, let’s get busy.” Piper said.
“Well, this vacation is sure turning out to be more interesting than I though it would be.” Paige said.
The Halliwell sisters were quick learners and soon they, with Terry’s help, got the ship in the air again. “Here we go.” Terry said as they entered the storm clouds. The ship began to rock and lurch.
“I think I’m gonna be air sick.” Phoebe said, clutching her stomach.
“Easy, Pheebs.” Piper said: “It shouldn’t be...” However, before Piper could get any further, the ship lurched over sideways, and a bright light encompassed the bridge.
“What was that?” Paige asked, once the four Halliwells had regained their footing.
“We did it!” Terry suddenly shouted: “I don’t know how, but you got me back!” he pointed out the window and the girls saw a sea, and a coastline rapidly approaching.
This is not good! Prue thought: I can’t orb, and that can mean only one thing!
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking.” Phoebe whispered to Piper.
“Yeah, Pheebs, I am. I think we’ve just taken a trip nearly one hundred years into the past.” Piper whispered back.
“I was afraid you were gonna say that.”
Terry managed to get the ship down at an airbase, near the coast. He and the Halliwell sisters got out, and were suddenly surrounded by soldiers.
“Decker, I thought we’d lost you for sure.” An official looking man said: “We managed to rescue your crew at sea. They said...” the man broke off when he saw the four Halliwell sisters: “Hello, who are these ladies?”
“They helped me get back, Colonel Ransome.” Terry replied: “I owe them.”
“Still, we don’t know who they are.” Ransome said. He gestured and soon the Halliwells were surrounded by armed soldiers.
“Is this necessary?” Terry asked.
“It is.” Ransome said: “They might be German agents.”
“We are not! We’re Americans!” Phoebe declared.
“Americans? What are you doing here?” Ransome asked.
“Well...” Phoebe began and broke off. She remembered long ago high school history lessons: If we’re in 1915, that means America doesn’t enter the war for another two years! Of course, I can’t tell them that!
“Colonel, I must insist...” Terry began, but Ransome cut him off.
“I’m sorry, Decker, but my hands are tied. The Secretary Of War himself is visiting this base today. I cannot take any chances of a security breach now.” Ransome made a gesture and the four sisters were quickly marched off.
The Halliwells were taken to an unused room and locked in. The looked around, and saw the calendar on the wall. It confirmed what they already knew, that they were now in the year 1915. “Great!” Piper said: “We’re stuck! Our powers don’t work in the past.” she looked at Prue: “How about your powers?”
“Sorry, Piper, same rules apply to white lighters.” Prue said: “In 1915, I’m just another human.”
“So, how do we get back to our time?” Paige asked.
“The same way we got here.” Prue said: “Through the time rip.”
“Yes, but I don’t think those soldiers out there are going make that easy for us. Namely, the locked door and the armed guard beyond it.” Piper said: If only I could use my freezing power. she thought.
“Hey, look at this!” Phoebe said. She was looking out a barred window. Her sisters quickly crowded around her and looked out. A group of soldiers were escorting an important looking man.
“They did say some bigwig was visiting here today.” Paige said: “I guess that’s him.”
“It sure is.” Phoebe replied as she continued to stare at the man. He looked familiar, like she had seen pictures of him in history books somewhere. As Phoebe watched, the man pulled out a cigar and proceeded to light it, and that is when it hit home to her. He was younger and thinner than he appeared in the pictures she had seen of him, but there was no mistaking whom she was looking at: “It’s Winston Churchill! The Secretary Of War is Winston Churchill himself!”
“Winston Churchill?” Paige said: “I thought he was famous in World War II. Isn’t this World War I?”
“He was Prime Minister of Great Britain in World War II.” Phoebe pointed out: “However, that was later in his career. At this point, he was Secretary Of War, until Gallipoli, that is. I think that happens this year sometime.”
“How do you know so much about this, Pheebs?” Prue asked.
“I did a book report on Winston Churchill in high school.” Phoebe replied: “You see, Prue, I wasn’t goofing off ALL the time back then.”
“No, just most of the time.”
“Bleh!” Phoebe said, sticking her tongue out at Prue.
“So, how do we get out of here?” Piper asked.
“Maybe I can do something about that.” Phoebe said as she headed over to the door: “These old hinges...” she began to dig through her pockets and soon pulled out her nail file. As her sisters watched, Phoebe began to slowly try to loosen the door hinges. It took a while, but Phoebe slowly made progress. “I’ve almost got it!” Phoebe said and then smiled as she managed to remove the hinges.
“Pheebs, you never cease to amaze me.” Piper said.
“Aw, it’s nothing.” Phoebe replied.
“Let’s go.” Prue said. The quietly removed the door and saw the armed guard. Luckily, he had his back to them.
“Excuse me.” Paige said.
“What?” the guard turned and was quickly dispatched by a karate kick from Phoebe. The sisters watched as the guard fell down, unconscious.
“Bet he wasn’t expecting a lady to be so tough.” Paige said as the four sisters made their escape. Soon, the Halliwells made it out into the corridor and they were wondering what to do next, when the unexpected happened, Phoebe had a vision.
Winston Churchill was being stabbed to death, by what appeared to be a base mechanic.
“Oh my God!” Phoebe said, once the vision had ended.
“What is it, Phoebe?” Paige asked.
“I had a vision.” Phoebe replied.
“That’s impossible! Our powers never worked in the past before.” Piper said.
“Well, none the less, I had a vision!” Phoebe said and went on to describe what she had seen.
“Whoa?” Paige said: “This is bad.”
“I know.” Phoebe replied: “We gotta get to this guy, before he gets to Churchill!”
“I don’t understand.” Piper said: “How can Churchill possibly be killed in 1915? We know he is still alive in World War II?”
“Yeah, it doesn’t make any sense.” Paige added.
“Uh, can we discuss this later.” Prue said: “We have a future Prime Minister to save. Let’s go!”
To the base personnel, he was Henry Miller, a mechanic, but his real name was Kalsha, a Demon, and he was here to change history. Bah! Let them think they've won! Kalsha thought: Once I kill the human known as Winston Churchill, I will have victory. Without Churchill to lead Britain in 1940, the country will fall to Hitler. Germany will win World War II, and chaos will reign supreme! HA! HA! HA! Kalsha slowly made his way down the hall, but was soon face to face with the Halliwell sisters.
“That’s him!” Phoebe said: “That’s the guy I saw in my vision!”
“The Charmed Ones! Here!?” Kalsha said.
“Whoa, you know us?” Paige asked.
“Of course, all Demons know about the Charmed Ones. I am Kalsha.” Kalsha said as he pulled out a bayonet: “I also happen to know that your powers don’t work in the past, so you are helpless to stop me!”
“Why are you changing history?” Paige asked.
“Because the Underworld has become weak and divided, which allowed me to sneak into the lair of Tempus and use his magic artifacts to send myself to this time. Once I change history, I will return and make it strong again, strong enough to rule the new world of chaos that my changing of history will create!”
“Guess again.” Piper said.
“Oh, and how will you stop me?” Kalsha asked.
“Like this.” Prue said and threw a punch that caught the Demon off guard. Kalsha howled and dropped the bayonet. Before he could have a chance to recover, Paige grabbed the bayonet and shoved it right into the Demon’s chest.
“ARRRRGHHHH!!” Kalsha screamed as he exploded into flames and vanished.
“Man, I miss kicking Demon butt!” Phoebe said. Suddenly, all four sisters were enveloped in a strange mist. They lost their bearings for a moment or so, and when the mist cleared, the sisters were...
...safely deposited back in the Sierra Nevada Mountains in the 21st Century. “We’re back in our own time!” Paige said.
“How is that possible?” Phoebe asked.
“I guess vanquishing Kalsha was the key to sending us home.” Prue said.
“Yeah, but why was it the key?” Piper asked.
“If we hadn’t gone back in time, I would never have had that vision, and Winston Churchill would have been murdered in 1915.” Phoebe said: “History would have been seriously screwed.”
“I know.” Prue said.
“So, our going back to 1915 was part of history, it was supposed to happen?” Piper wondered.
“Not really.” Prue said: “That Demon was screwing with time, we went back and fixed it.”
“Yes, but HOW and WHY were we sent back?” Piper asked.
“Yeah, why did we just happen to be in the right place when that time rip appeared. How did I have that vision?” Phoebe added.
“It does seem just a little too convenient.” Paige said.
“I don’t know.” Prue said: “Maybe some things are better left to mystery. Anyway, let’s get back to our vacation.”
From a nearby mountain top, Cole Turner smiled as he watched his ex-wife and her sisters move away. Oh, Phoebe, I wish I could tell you. Cole thought.
“Well done.” a man in white said as he appeared next to Cole: “You successfully completed your first assignment.”
“Thank you, Vincent.” Cole said: “I think I’m gonna like being a Time Watcher. It beats being stuck in that void between life and death, anyway. I’m grateful to you for recruiting me. I promise that this time, I will do good, forever.”
“Yes, it is an important job we have.” Vincent said: “Thanks to us, history will remain on it’s proper course. Although, it was risky for you to involve your ex-wife and her sisters in this instance.”
“I know. It was risky of me arranging for them to be sent back to 1915, however, it worked.” Cole replied: “Also, I was able to reactivate Phoebe’s vision powers, so they would work in the past, which helped them, and us, stop Kalsha from changing history.” He smiled sadly.
“Regrets?” Vincent asked.
“A little.” Cole said: “I know that Phoebe’s heart belongs to someone else now, and I’m happy for her. However, I still have feelings for her in my heart. If it wasn’t for her, and the love we shared, I would still be Belthazor and killing innocent people. I owe her so much.”
“I know, but you have your memories. Treasure those.” Vincent said: “Come, Cole, we have much to do to keep history on track.” The two of them dematerialized.
SAN FRANCISCO, A WEEK LATER
“Who are my favourite nephews?” Prue said as she held little Wyatt and Chris in her arms. The sisters had gotten back from their vacation and had told their spouses what had happened.
“Sounds like you had an interesting time.” Leo said, smiling.
“Interesting doesn’t even begin to explain it.” Piper said.
“Yeah, it’s not every day that you save an important historical figure.” Phoebe added.
“Well, Phoebe, Paige, it looks like you two got your wish!” Piper said.
“How so?” Paige asked.
“Well, you did say things were getting boring!” Piper said with a smile.
“Yeah, we did.” Phoebe said: “I have to admit, defeating that Demon felt good. Maybe we can do this again someday.” Her sisters nodded in agreement.
Soon after, Piper, Phoebe, and Paige had gathered to say good-bye to Prue. “Please come and visit again.” Piper said as she gave her big sister a hug.
“I will.” Prue replied.
“I’ll miss you.” Phoebe said, being the next to hug Prue.
“I will miss you too, Pheebs.”
“It was finally nice to meet you.” Paige said, being the last to hug Prue.
“Ditto.” Prue replied and then prepared to orb out.
“Prue, wait, I have a gift for you!” Piper suddenly said and handed Prue a gift wrapped box. As Piper, Phoebe, and Paige watched, Prue opened her gift and smiled at what she saw.
“New high heels!” Prue declared.
“Well, they always were your favourite style of shoes.” Piper said.
“Yep, you’ll be the talk of the Spirit World.” Phoebe said, smiling.
“Aw, you three!” Prue said as she hugged her sisters one last time.
THE END
