FEAR'S LABYRINTH
a Charmed fan fiction by Jennifer A. Johnson
DISCLAIMER: "Charmed", "The Charmed Ones" and other related entities are owned, (TM) and (c) by CONSTANCE M. BURGE, AARON SPELLING Television Inc (A Paramount / Viacom Co.), and The WB (AOL Time Warner Company). All Rights reserved. This website, its operators, and any content on this site relating to "Charmed" are not authorized by Aaron Spelling Productions. No copyright infringement is intended. Any reproduction, duplication or distribution of this material in any form is expressly prohibited.
Rose McGowan (V.O.): "Previously, on Charmed..."
Phoebe had a premonition of the death of The Charmed Ones at the hands of The Source.
In a misguided attempt to seek their forgiveness, Billie projected The Charmed Ones into a Hell Dimension. Her reasoning was that, "The sisters are happiest when they're all together, fighting demons. So I'll make it so that's all they do. All of the Halliwell sisters together, fighting demons."
Billie used Wyatt to bring The Charmed Ones back, and Piper threatened to Vanquish her if she ever saw her again.
The Source nearly accomplished his goal. Prue returned just in time to help her sisters vanquish him.
The Charmed Ones still don't know how or why Prue is back.
FADE IN:
TEASER.
You're afraid that you couldn't protect your wife, your sisters-in-law. You're afraid that they're dead, and that you're somehow responsible. You're always responsible, aren't you Leo?
Leo knows it's Barbas, he recognizes the signs- the sudden fear that grabs you and lets you go and will paralyze you if you let it- but that doesn't stop it from influencing his thoughts just a little bit. "Piper, where are you?" he mutters to himself, trying to remain calm, if not for his own sake, then for the sake of the other Charmed Men who wait in Paige and Henry's apartment with him. Victor, Henry, and Coop- not to mention Wyatt and Chris- all have a stake in what's going on in the manor right now.
Leo is the first to see it, that brilliant blue-white light that always signaled the arrival of a whitelighter. He can feel the relief as it washes over him. The sisters had vanquished The Source. Piper was okay. But when Paige finally corporealizes in her apartment, it's without her sisters. Without Piper. Leo goes right to Paige. "Where's Piper? Is she okay?"
Henry grins. "My wife is so cool," he says. He takes a step towards her, but Paige holds up her finger to Henry in the universal sign of 'just gimme a minute here'. She grabs Leo by the arm and pulls him away from the civilians and the cupid, away from Henry, shutting him out. Again.
"She's fine. Better than fine, actually."
"Damn," the astral Barbas mutters, and projects himself back to his body.
Leo sort of frowns. He can sense something in the tone of her voice, in her facial expression, that forces him to push all thoughts of Piper out of his mind. He is more than Piper's husband, after all, he's Paige's whitelighter. Was! Was Paige's whitelighter. "Paige, what is it?"
Paige opens her mouth to say something, then shakes her head. She claps her hands once. "You know what? I'm just gonna have to show you. Victor, you got the boys?" Victor can barely utter a "Yeah" before she grabs Leo's arm and orbs them both out of there.
Henry follows the orbs up with his eyes and watches them disappear, the tiniest bit of a frown on his face. He isn't jealous, not of Leo, but Leo knows Paige so much better than he does. And being magical (or formerly magical, Henry still isn't entirely sure how that works), Leo could understand her in ways that Henry never could. He wouldn't mind it so much if Leo weren't the first person his wife turned to in a crisis.
Coop, who has been munching on potato chips this entire time, offers them to Henry. Henry reaches into the bag and takes one.
---
Paige orbs them into the sun room of the manor. Leo looks around, almost confused. "Paige. There's nothing here." Paige frantically shushes him, as if afraid of being caught. Okay, now he's really confused. He tries to sense something, a presence, something Good or Evil, but comes up empty. Eventually, he's going to go an entire day without trying to be a whitelighter again, but apparently, today's not the day. "What?"
Paige grabs Leo by the arm and drags him across the room. He stumbles, almost trips, but Paige doesn't slow, much less stop. She ducks out of the doorway to the living room and tries to make herself as small as possible against the wall. She looks around the corner and into the living room. She narrows her eyes. "Look at them. They probably don't even realize I'm gone," she grumbles.
Leo tries to peek around her and into the living room, but Paige grabs his head and pulls him back. "What? What is it?"
"Prue!" Paige nearly shrieks, then frantically shushes herself. She mouths Prue again at Leo and gestures wildly at the living room, just in case he didn't get it.
Leo frowns. "Prue? Prue's here?" Paige finally lets him look into the living room. Sure enough, the dearly departed is there, no longer so departed, at the foot of the stairs, with his living wife and living sister-in-law. "How is this possible?" Leo looks around for candles or some other sign that the girls conjured Prue like they often do with Penny and Pattie, but he doesn't see any. He prays that Piper didn't do anything they would all regret later.
"You're the walking Book of Shadows," Paige reminds Leo. "You tell me."
Prue's voice joins them in the sun room. "And you're spying on us, why?" Paige quickly ducks back behind the doorframe, then peeks out into the living room at the three original Charmed Ones. "Get in here and join us already, Paige."
Phoebe excitedly waves Paige over. "Come on! Come on!"
Piper remains silent, her head on Prue's shoulder and her arm intertwined with Prue's, as if anchoring her here.
Paige looks to Leo for guidance, for support. For an excuse not to go out there. He offers an encouraging nod instead. "Ready?" Leo asks her. Paige remains rooted to the spot and frantically shakes her head, her red hair flying. Leo waits a moment, then asks her again.
"Yes." Paige takes a deep breath, then steps into the living room. She hesitates and looks back to Leo. He keeps his distance, far enough away to allow the sisters to bond, but close enough to provide Paige the moral support she so obviously needs. Paige silently curses him for being so supportive, so damn understanding. So annoying.
Phoebe, however, is so excited she's practically jumping up and down. "Where'd you go, Paige?" She sees Leo standing there. "Oh! Hi, Leo!" Phoebe looks to Paige. "You got Leo?"
Paige almost snarks, 'No, he's back at the apartment. This is just a statue I made to remind me of Leo. Pretty good likeness, right?' then decides that comment probably wouldn't be the best one for someone in her uncertain position. "Yeah, Feebs." She forces a smile. "I got Leo."
Prue smiles. "Hi, Leo."
Paige touches Leo's arm possessively. He acknowledges their greetings with a nod. He studies Piper, but she doesn't even look at him. Her attention is on her big sister and only on her big sister. "You're real," Piper whispers. Leo's not even sure Piper is aware she's saying the words aloud. "You're really real."
Phoebe, still the empath, though technically not one, scurries over and locks her arms around Paige's, as if to keep her here. "Come, come. Meet your sister Prue." Phoebe leads Paige to their older sisters. "Prue, Paige. Paige, Prue."
All those old feelings of inadequacy come rushing back to Paige, of how Prue was this superwitch, and Paige could never, ever stack up. Never. And did she mention never? "So this is the Great and All Powerful Prue?" she snarks, trying to bury her true feelings and failing miserably. "I thought she'd be taller. And what's with her eye?" She adds a big grin to make sure Prue knows that she's just kidding, even if she isn't.
Piper lifts her head from Prue's shoulder. Irritation flashes in her brown eyes. "Paige?"
"Huh?" Paige asks, even though she's pretty sure she knows what Piper's going to say.
"Zip it," Piper demands. Paige was right. Piper returns her head to Prue's shoulder. Prue lovingly strokes Piper's shiny, brown hair.
"Isn't this great?" Phoebe enthuses, her voice overly cheerful and grating on Paige's last nerve. She looks for confirmation from Leo. "Isn't this great?" His eyes on Piper, Leo nods, still not quite sure that it is. "All four of the Halliwell sisters, together at last," Phoebe continues, with a wide sweep of her arms, to include the four P's.
Paige just can't help herself. "Only one of them a zombie!" she chirps, mimicking Phoebe's voice exactly. She grins broadly. Piper shoots her a look that clearly tells her to shut the hell up. Paige bites her lip to keep from saying anything else.
"Nothing's gonna separate us again!" Phoebe continues, trying to keep them all focused on her. She takes Prue's hand, and Paige's hand, linking all four of The Charmed Ones together.
The chandelier rattles above them. A blue-white light bounces off the crystal and radiates downward. Leo watches as all four of The Charmed Ones are bathed in its brilliant glow. The four sisters look heavenward.
"The Power of Four," Phoebe breathes.
---
Barbas returns to his body. He sniffs the air. Stuck on a ledge in Purgatory since his last vanquish, he smells the sulfur clouds and the brimstone and the hot magma below. And something else. Barbas licks his finger and sticks it into the air as if testing the wind. He breathes in deep. It is the delicious smell of Fear. More precisely, the Fear of a Charmed One. The Fear of a former Elder was one thing, but as much as he enjoyed feeding from Leo, the Fear of a Charmed One was another thing entirely. The Fear of a Charmed One could get him out of this godforsaken place, once and for all.
Barbas smirks. His ragged teeth poke out beneath his lip. "The Power of Four," he breathes, taking in the Fear with a great wave of his hands.
END TEASER.
CREDITS.
Starring:
Alyssa Milano as Phoebe Halliwell
Rose McGowan as Paige Matthews
with Holly Marie Combs as Piper Halliwell
and Shannen Doherty as Prue Halliwell
Brian Krause as Leo Wyatt