The sounds of The Bravery's latest hit, "Time Won't Let Me Go", wafted out the windows of the Halliwell manor on a warm Saturday afternoon. Aside from the occasional innocent to be saved from your run of the mill evil, the sisters had been demon free since the previous May, and had settled into a comfortable routine. "Hey! Check this out!" exclaimed Paige. She, Piper, and Leo had been digging through a back corner of the attic in an attempt to clear some space for Paige's new reference books. She'd decided that a few of Magic School's demonology reference books could be made better use of back at the manor. The Triad may have been defeated but that didn't mean their lives would be demon-free forever. If vanquishing the Source and vanquishing him again and again had taught them anything it was that where there's a void some new evil will fill it sooner or later. It sucked, but hey, it's all part if the cosmic balance.
Paige was holding an old, beat-up, and very dusty hope chest. "Is this Grams' or something?" She brought it to the center of the room. Leo looked up.
"Uh, no, actually - that's mine. Some of my stuff my family packed away after I died. I retrieved it from a storage unit back in the 80's."
Page fiddled with the latch and asked, "May I?"
Leo shrugged. "Sure."
Piper smirked. "Very Andrew Sisters."
Paige set aside the cap and continued digging until she found a small velvet box. She popped it open. "Not exactly the kinda accessory I picture on you Leo," she said, revealing a small silver necklace with a pendant dangling from the chain.
Leo squinted his eyes at the piece of silver jewelry. A small glass vial hung on the chain, framed elegantly by the zodiac sign for a Leo. Somehow it seemed familiar, but he couldn't place how or where. "Huh. Look at this…" continued Paige, as she handed the necklace to Piper. "Looks like the Triquetra." She indicated the clasp which was indeed a facsimile of the Charmed One's Triquetra. Intrigued, Leo extended his hand towards Piper.
"Honey, what is it?" Leo winced again and crumpled to the floor, moaning.
"The pain! It's –"
"What’s wrong? Is it your head?" asked Piper
"Hurts... all over!" he moaned, "worse... than a... than a darklighter's arrow!" His muscles were seizing and his veins appeared to throb rapidly. In a panic, Piper dropped to the floor, cradling him in a desperate attempt to ease his mysterious suffering. "Do something!" she cried to Paige.
"I don't know! I don't know! Just – " It was then that Paige noticed a small, yellowed piece of paper rolled up like a tiny scroll stuffed in the colored glass of the pendant's vial. It had writing on it, as well as what looked to be old, dried blood.
Paige extended her hand and called "Paper!" It orbed into her waiting fingers. "It's a spell!"
Piper stroked Leo's head and with each pass of her hand more of his hair appeared to go gray. "Paige…" His hair began to thin. "Paige!" she called out. She looked up from the slip of paper, noticing the changes in Leo. It was hard to be certain, at first, through his grimaced expression, but it soon became apparent that his skin was wrinkling – and fast.
"I think he's….. aging maybe? At super speed?" surmised Paige. Immediately, Piper pulled her hand out from under his head and flicked her fingers at Leo's body, freezing him.
"Nice thinking!" said Paige in an appreciative tone.
"Thanks," replied Piper, distractedly. "But this," she gestured, frustrated, at Leo's form, "this is only buying us time. We need to figure this out - now! Get Phoebe." Paige nodded and orbed out, returning a moment later with Phoebe.
"What's going on?" she asked, alarmed. "Oh, my god…" she gasped, seeing Piper on the floor with Leo. "Is that Leo…?" Ignoring her question, Paige turned back to the piece of paper.
Piper took a deep breath, burying her emotions, and turned to her sister. "Okay… so what is that?" she asked, her aggravation still seeping into her voice.
“When you…” Paige began to read the spell aloud but quickly thought better of it and simply passed the scrap on to her sisters. The spell appeared to be scrawled in blood, reading:
“When you touch this cursed antique
Time will swarm you , it will pique
And this Wyatt I command
To speed through time 'til he is sand”
Piper sneered, "Oh, you've gotta be kidding me… this bastards so dead." As if on cue, a portal opened up on the wall revealing a man's silhouette.