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CHAPTER 17

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Fortunately for Prue, Leo seemed to have quite a bit of knowledge about her and her sisters' powers and how magic worked in general. She supposed that was what Whitelighters were for - to know everything there was to know about the witches they were sent to protect.

Apparently, there was a basic spell that might work if the three sisters held hands and said it in Jack's presence. It was supposed to be extra powerful because of who they were - The Charmed Ones... but they'd have to do another spell first, to unbind Piper and Phoebe's powers.

They also seemed to have the ability to locate almost anyone using a technique called scrying, which involved using a crystal hovering over a map and waiting for it to fall on the location of a person or object. Since they knew quite a bit about Jack, they were able to use this to pinpoint his exact location.

After explaining what it meant to be The Charmed Ones to Prue, and helping her explain the situation to a suspicious Piper and excited Phoebe, Leo led the girls up to the attic, where Grams stored the book she'd shown Prue before.

"Is this like a game?" Phoebe whispered.

"Um... Kind of..." Prue lied. Phoebe was only eleven years old. Maybe telling the truth in this situation wasn't a great idea. She didn't want Phoebe to be too scared to participate. She did want her youngest sister to take it seriously though. "It's an important game, Phoebe. We have to win it. I'm serious."

"Okay..." Phoebe sounded slightly nervous, but still excited.

"Where've you been for like half a month, Prue?" Piper frowned as she followed her older sister up the stairs. "Grams was really worried... but she wouldn't call the police. I almost called them myself. She's been being weird this whole time... I walked into the living room the other day and she was swinging a necklace or something around above a map. And she's been hiding up here in the attic a lot too. Every time I told her we should call the police, she'd get mad and tell me no. Like she was going to find you herself somehow. It didn't make sense... And why are you hanging out with this weird guy? You know magic isn't real, right? Is this guy nuts or something?"

"I know this is hard to believe, but you're just going to have to trust me. Grams is in trouble. We have to do this." Prue told her. "Leo's on our side. He'll help us... But there's a spell we have to say to save Grams. I'm not going to pretend it's not crazy... but we have to do this. Just trust me, Piper. Please just trust me."

Piper must have heard the gravity in her voice, because she nodded silently and stopped complaining for the moment. Prue and Piper, being so close in age, had a sort of understanding between them. They could tell when the other was joking and when they were being serious. Piper knew from Prue's tone that this was important.

"Prue, you'll have to unbind their powers. You're the only active witch here. I can't perform your spells." Leo instructed, flipping through the giant book Grams had shown her before. "Here it is. It might help if you hold hands."

Prue stood in front of the book and held out her hands for her sisters to take.

"This is fun." Phoebe giggled as she took Prue's hand. She reached out for Piper's hand as well. "Does this mean we're skipping school tomorrow? Since we're gonna be too tired?"

"I doubt it, Phoebs." Piper shook her head, taking each of her sisters' hands in hers. "Prue doesn't get to decide that. Grams'll be mad that we got up in the middle of the night. Probably mad that we're hanging out with this strange man too... no matter how cute he is." She added in a whisper.

"Ew..." Phoebe laughed.

"Let's focus, guys." Prue told them. "This is really important. Please take it seriously." She looked down at the page and read the inscription aloud. As soon as she finished, it felt like a gust of wind moved through the attic.

Piper gasped softly and looked at Prue. "Is this real?" She asked with wide eyes, seeming to finally understand that something had actually happened just now. "Grams is really in trouble? We have magic powers?"

Prue nodded.

"Piper, your power is freezing time. You might not even need it in this instance. I theorize that if we go to where Jack is, and you three hold hands and chant the spell together, that'll do the trick." Leo explained. "But if you do think you need your power, you're just going to have to try to will it to work. Fear and stress seem to do the trick... We don't have time to practice."

"What's my power?" Phoebe asked.

"Premonition." Leo responded.

"What's that?" Phoebe frowned.

Leo smiled. "You can see visions of the future."

"Is that all?" Phoebe rolled her eyes. "I can't like fly or turn invisible or anything?"

Leo shook his head and turned back toward the book, flipping to another page. "This is the spell. It's short and simple. Memorize it, and we'll go and give it a try. Keep holding hands during this. I'll be close, ready to orb us out if need be."

Prue looked at the book, reading the words silently in her head. It read, three times, 'the power of three will set us free.' That seemed simple enough. She turned the book so her sisters could see. "You got that?" She asked.

They both nodded.

Prue exhaled. A large part of her wasn't sure this could possibly work. She understood how throwing fire or energy balls back at demons could kill them. But how could just saying words do anything?

No matter how unsure she was, however, she knew she needed to be the strong one here. Her sisters were probably confused and worried enough already. She was the oldest. She needed to set a good example. "Remember to stay calm. We can do this." She told her sisters.

They both frowned as they looked back at her. It seemed they were either finally taking this seriously, or they thought she was crazy and were worried about her mental state. They'd see soon enough.

"Let's go, Leo." She reached out toward Leo, letting him wrap his arms around her and her sisters and orb them right back to where she'd encountered Jack before.

As soon as they arrived, Prue's heart felt cold. She knew what Jack was capable of, and the last thing she wanted was for him to do anything to hurt her sisters.

She gripped Piper's and Phoebe's hands tightly as she stared at Jack, who turned slowly to face them. Grams lay unmoving at his feet. Prue felt her lip tremble as she stared at her grandmother's face. The woman looked like she was in pain, but was just lying there, totally still, totally quiet.

"You've brought backup..." Jack noted in a calm, unafraid voice.

Prue swallowed, feeling very paranoid that this wasn't going to work. Jack didn't seem scared to see that Prue had brought her sisters and Leo. Maybe he'd just kill all four of them. If Grams couldn't defeat him, how on earth were three young girls going to do it? Piper was thirteen. Phoebe was eleven... How could the three of them be powerful enough to do something their grandmother could not? Grams had been a witch for so long. If anyone could defeat Jack, it would be her, right? Not three young witches who didn't even know what they were doing...

"Your grandmother is stronger than you are." Jack told her, ignoring Leo, Piper, and Pheobe completely. "She may not be screaming and crying like you were... But she still feels pain. Everyone does."

Prue felt tears in her eyes and cold dread and fear in her heart. She remembered the pain Jack had inflicted upon her. It was the worst pain of her life. Utterly unbearable... It hurt her heart to know her grandmother was feeling that right now. Somehow it made her feel even worse that Grams was remaining so still and quiet during it. Did holding back her cries of pain and desperate movements make the pain worse?

"Now, Prue." Leo whispered.

Prue inhaled, nodded, and squeezed her sisters' hands tighter. "The power of three will set us free." She spoke in a small voice, trying to be strong even when her heart felt like it was pounding out of her chest.

"That won't work." Jack frowned, though a flicker of something that almost resembled fear dashed through his eyes.

"The power of three will set us free." Piper joined in as Prue recited the words a second time.

"They don't have their powers... It won't work..." Jack persisted, frowning as he glanced toward Leo. "That's the only reason she's alive." Jack lightly kicked Grams's arm. "So you witches wouldn't get you powers back yet..."

"The power of three will set us free." Phoebe joined in so that all three sisters were chanting the spell. "The power of three will set us free. The power of three will set us free."

"Stop." Jack growled, staring back at the girls with hate and anger in his eyes. "Say it again, and I'll end you. Your grandmother too. And your Whitelighter. I'll kill all of you. Don't think I won't."

Prue squeezed Piper's and Phoebe's hands tighter, silently telling them to stay strong and to not back down now.

"The power of three will set us free." They all three said in unison again.

A growl tore from Jack's throat as he looked like wind was blowing around him. He held out his hand and created a large ball of fire as the girls continued their chant.

"The power of-" Prue was cut off when Jack threw the flaming ball. She tried to throw it back, but couldn't. She kept it from hitting them, but couldn't throw it backwards. She only managed to stop it halfway, and Jack seemed to be trying to throw it still, without even touching it. It just levitated between the two of them, slowing inching toward Prue and her sisters. "Leo..." Prue gasped as she stepped to the side only to see the fireball move along with her.

"Keep going... I think you're almost there... Just try to stay focused..." Leo sounded out of breath, but she could tell he was trying to remain calm.

"The power of three w-" Prue gasped again as the ball jolted even closer. "I can't hold it back!" She whimpered, staring and focusing as best as she could. She felt entirely exhausted and drained. Jack was so powerful. It took every bit of her energy to keep the fire ball from hitting them. She could feel she wasn't going to be able to hold it back for much longer.

"The power of three will set us free!" Prue spoke faster, causing her sisters to follow her example. "The power of three will set us free. The power of three will se-"

The three of them screamed as Prue's focus waned and the ball suddenly jerked forward, and then froze in place.

Prue breathed in a shocked breath. She stared at Jack, who seemed to be frozen in place as well. She wasn't doing this... She looked down at Piper, whose hands were raised defensively in front of her as she breathed in and out shocked, frightened breaths.

"Piper!" Prue gasped, quickly hugging her sister before gripping both Piper's and Phoebe's hands again and nodding quickly. "The power of three will set us free!" She said again, with both of her sister's following her lead.

With that, Jack burst into flames, making the same sort of pained sounds Nickolas had made.

Prue pulled her sisters out of the path of the fireball, just in case, as the three of them stared at Jack. She noticed Leo rush over toward Grams, putting his hand above her and healing her just as he had for Prue earlier.

"Leo, where's Prue?" Grams gasped as soon as she was able to speak.

"She's here." Leo nodded over toward them. "They all are."

"Girls?!" Grams's voice shook as she pulled herself to her feet and rushed toward them, pulling them all into one huge hug.

"Grams, are you okay?" Prue asked.

Grams pulled back and looked at Prue, then at Piper and Pheobe. "You're all three here... You worked together. I'm fine... I'm fine. Are you?"

The three of them nodded.

"We had to unbind their powers... to be The Charmed Ones... Nickolas said it was the only way to defeat Jack." Prue explained.

"The Charmed Ones..." Grams smiled softly, putting her hand on Piper's face. She glanced down at Phoebe, and then up at Prue. "This may be the last time I see you three use your powers together... You did so well. I know you must have been scared. Are you alright, Phoebe, Piper?"

"Are you kidding?" Phoebe gasped. "That was so cool!"

"Yeah..." Piper sounded more uncertain. "That was scary... I can't believe I froze him. Leo said we didn't have time to practice. I didn't even know how to do it... But it just happened."

Grams pulled Piper into a hug and then moved back, looking carefully at each of the three of her grand daughters.

"I know you didn't want us to have our powers yet, and maybe I shouldn't have reversed your spell... I didn't want to put Piper and Phoebe in danger, but Nickolas said we needed The Charmed Ones to save you... I didn't know what else to do... You can undo it and get rid of memories or whatever you need to do..." Prue rambled.

Grams laughed. "I am going to have to do that... but first..." She looked at each of her grand daughters. "I want you each to know how proud I am of you. You've been so brave... I have to admit... at times I worry about your future - with the constant bickering..." She shook her head. "But clearly you three know to come together when it matters. If you can defeat someone like Jack when you're only children... Your future will be fine."

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THE END