Second Time's the Charm

Peyton parked the car just as the other one pulled up behind her. The other car held both her cousins and her uncle Coop while she had her dad in the passenger seat. She waited until he was out the car before she rested her head against the wheel, cursing herself for not taking the time to approach the subject of her moving out. It seemed like such a perfect time seeing as they were alone, but for some reason she just couldn't get herself to say it during the ride. After, she reasoned to herself as she sat up and opened the door, getting out of the car just as the doors on the other car were being shut.

She opened the boot of the car and brought out the small basket that held the candles in before she handed it to her dad and closed the boot.

"Alright, everyone ready?" Coop asked to which he received no reply. He and Leo shared a look before everyone began making their way across the grass. Peyton kept her eyes at her feet as they walked and only looked up when they were near to the family mausoleum. It held the memorial plaques of practically her whole family, plus her Aunt Prue whom she never got to meet but was told plenty about.

They reached the mausoleum and Leo opened the door, letting Peyton take the basket from him before she and the rest entered the small building. Seeing Piper's name on one of the plaques made her yearn for her. She was always closer to her mother than her father, and her death hit her so badly that it's easier for her to just close it all off rather than acknowledge the loss that she started burying almost eleven years ago. Plus she could see the loss in her father, having lost his wife and three children. It was another reason she closed off her emotions about her family.

Digging through the basket, Peyton started setting out the candles on the smooth surface by the wall, a place that was designed for memorials like this, she always assumed. She lined them up in families: four for her family; three for Parker's family; five for Paris's family. There were four big candles in total, each one representing the parents they lost, and eight smaller candles for the siblings they had lost and the children Leo and Coop had lost.

Once they were set out she stepped back so that Paris could step forward and light the three candles for her siblings. "Tamora, Kat, Henry," she murmured as she lit the separate candles. Her attention shifted to the two bigger candles and she lit them. "Mom, Dad." Tears were gleaming in her eyes as she said the last name, tears that she fought to keep away but didn't succeed entirely. Peyton tore her eyes away from her younger cousin, not wanting to see the sadness on her face.

Next it was Parker's turn and she watched as her uncle Coop placed a hand on her cousin's shoulder as she stepped forward and lit the two small candles. "P.J., Pippa." She then lit the bigger candle, tears appearing in her eyes. "Mom." Parker let her tears fall then, stepping back against her father, his arm coming around her in a comforting hug.

It was now Peyton's turn. She took in a deep breath before stepping forward and glancing down at the unlit candles. "Wyatt, Chris, Melinda," she muttered quietly, lighting the three smaller candles for her siblings. She closed her eyes and subconsciously counted to five before she reopened them and lit the bigger candle. "Mom." She stepped back from the lit candles and felt her dad's hand on her shoulder in a comforting manner. Glancing at him briefly, she gave a sad smile before looking back at the candles.

They each watched the small flames flicker on the candle as they stood in silence. Two minutes passed with the only noise in the mausoleum being the flames as they continued burning on the candle. Coop was the one who was counting the two minutes, and when it passed he was the first one to talk. "We're taking care of them. We always will," he spoke softly. Peyton looked at the floor when he did, a feeling creeping on her about not talking to her dad today about moving out, instead leaving it for another day. But she knew she couldn't do that because he always told her "not now" and "we'll talk about it later", something that they never did.

Paris was the first to turn to the door, Parker and Coop following. Peyton stepped up to the candles and started blowing them out, waiting for all the flames to be extinguished before she could replace them in the basket. Leo stood and waited as she collected them. As she placed the last one in the basket, she turned to him. "Dad, can we talk?" she asked.

"Sure, Peyton. What about?" Leo replied, his eyebrows furrowed slightly. He didn't like it when she asked whether they could talk. Not because he didn't want to, but because he always worried about what she needed to say when she asks him whether they can talk, much like she did now.

She closed the lid on the basket and sighed. "I want to move out," she told him straight up.

He groaned. "Not now, Peyton." He headed to the door, trying to close the conversation but she knew that she couldn't let that happen again. She gripped the basket tight and followed after him.

"Dad, please. I know you worry about me because of what happened, but I'm twenty three years old. I can take care of myself," she pleaded as they reached outside, the others waiting for them a few feet away from the building.

Leo sighed and turned to her, making them both stop just outside the door. "We're not having this conversation, Peyton, and you are not moving out," he stated firmly. She didn't get why he was so adamant about her not moving out.

She was about to reply when Paris butted in. "Why are you talking about this now? How selfish can you be?" she asked incredulously.

"This doesn't concern you, Paris," Peyton told her.

"It's the anniversary of their deaths and you're talking about moving out!" she all but yelled.

"It's been twelve years, Paris. Our lives don't stop beca--" She was cut off by a sudden gust of wind whipping around them, making their hair fly and their clothes flap about. A small whirlwind appeared and began travelling across the grass and towards them.

"Everyone back in the mausoleum!" Leo shouted above the wind and they all hurried back into the building, Leo and Coop at the rear and the latter shut the door and kept grip on the handle to try and buy them some time. The three cousins stood in the centre of the room, watching Coop trying to keep the wind out and Leo looking worried.

"What's going on?" Parker asked.

"They vanquished him. It doesn't make sense how he's back," he muttered, avoiding the question and confusing the three even more. "He was vanquished by The Charmed Ones so how can he be back?"

"The Charmed Ones?" Peyton questioned. The door rattled harder and Coop struggled to keep the door closed. She looked around at her two cousins and they looked just as confused as she felt.

Out of all their sight, the plaques of Piper, Phoebe and Paige began to light up, slowly illumining the text on each plaque. Soon all three were completely lit up and the light began making its way towards the girls. The three didn't notice as it began making a circle around them, however Leo looked back in time to see a swirl of magic encircle the girls before disappearing suddenly. His gaze flicked to the three plaques just in time to see them finishing dimming back to normal. It dawned on him what had just happened seconds before.

"Your powers," he exclaimed. The cousins looked at one another as Coop let go of the door handle and rushed back, the wind too much for him to try and keep out. "Coop, their powers. They have them."

He looked at Leo before looking at the girls. "We need a vanquishing spell, and fast."

"Vanquishing spell?" Paris questioned only to be shushed by Leo. The small whirlwind crept through the door and began to slow. They all backed up to the far wall.

"A beginners spell. Something that's strong enough to vanquish him," Coop continued and Leo nodded. He racked his mind quickly before snapping his fingers and turning to the girls, Leo watching as the whirlwind stopped completely to reveal Shax. "Repeat after me: We witches three vanquish thee," he commanded the girls.

"Wha—" Peyton started.

"Now!" Leo yelled.

"We witches three vanquish thee," Parker started. "We witches three vanquish thee." Paris joined in as did Peyton as she said it for the second time. "We witches three vanquish thee."

Shax started forward, the wind still whipping around them but slower now that he wasn't in the whirlwind any more. He raised his hand and knocked Coop and Leo out of the way, making them crash into the wall.

"Keep going!" Coop yelled as he coughed and brought himself up off the floor, Leo following suit.

"We witches three vanquish thee. We witches three vanquish thee. We witches three vanquish thee," the girls continued chanting as Leo and Coop kept distracting Shax from them. They repeated it one more time when the wind started whipping around Shax, engulfing him entirely before a bright light shone from it and he disappeared with the light. The wind stopped and their clothes and hair became still. The door and entrance to the mausoleum was wrecked but the rest was still standing.

Leo and Coop approached the girls. "You did it," Leo congratulated.

"What did we do?" Peyton asked.

"And what the hell was that?" Parker added.