Disclaimer: Prue Halliwell, Piper Halliwell, Phoebe Halliwell and Charmed are © & TM Spelling Entertainment and any other respective owners, none of which are the author. Everything else is © & TM the author. The author makes absolutely no profit off of this work of fan fiction, and no copyright infringement is intended.
A Charming Demise
By: Piper Chris Melinda Halliwell
Prue stared at down at cars zooming past below the bridge. Whoever was manipulating her thoughts was right. It was her fault Andy died and she'd regret it as long as she walked this earth. If only she hadn't told him!
She hit her arm on the railing hard enough to bruise. Pain meant she was alive, living with thousands of regrets.
She wiped her eyes. Her sisters needed her, always had, though not nearly as much now. And that was good, but still it felt like her role as the oldest sister was slipping from her grasp like sand through an hourglass. Time that she knew she couldn't get back.
Being witches, it always put them in danger and she, being the oldest, had to keep distractions to a minimum. But if – if the Power of Three didn't exist anymore they would be safe, finally, from demons, warlocks…everything! But Phoebe loved being part of this so much…how could she just turn her back on her, on it, her family's heritage?
I'll only get them hurt more than they've already been, her conscience told her. They're better without me. They've become strong enough. I can't do anymore for them.
She looked down for a clear path. Moments later, she found one. She climbed up onto the ledge.
"Prue!" Piper yelled as she and Phoebe came up behind her.
"Prue, come down from there!" Phoebe called. "Here, take my hand," she said reaching to out to her.
"Prue, please!" Piper said, laying a hand on her sister's shoe. "Just because you didn't get the job, it doesn't mean—"
"This isn't about the job, Piper!" Prue hurtfully snapped. "It's my fault…all of it."
"What's 'it'?" Phoebe asked.
"Andy's death, us continuing to be who we are only to see the ones we love die…how is anything good anymore?"
"We've done so much good, Prue. You can't just throw that away!" Piper said.
Behind her, the wind picked up. "And you two – you don't need me anymore. You're strong enough on your own."
"That's not true!" Phoebe yelled. "We needed you when Mom died and we still need you now."
"All right, yeah, maybe not as much as we used to, but we've grown, we've matured," Piper said. "And Prue, it's because of you."
"You taught us what we know. And, with me, that's no small accomplishment," Phoebe said.
"Don't you two ever long for things to be what they used to be? Free of any other world influences, away from the prospect of dying early…" Prue said as tears cascaded down.
"Yes, but we can't help it. It chose us," Piper said.
"We could have, if that one hadn't read the spell from that damn book!" Prue said, furiously. None of that would've ever happened if Phoebe just hadn't let her curiosity get to her!
"Hey! That damn book has saved us on numerous occasions!" Phoebe fought back. "You can't just bash it!"
Prue turned around to face them. "Yes it has Phoebe, but why has it saved us? Its purpose is to further our powers. Without reading the first spell we wouldn't even need it!"
"So you're mad at magic? At Phoebe? Fine, but that's no reason for this idiocy!" Piper said.
"No, this is not idiocy! This is reason! I couldn't do anything and because of who we are, you two just keep getting hurt. Demons know the easiest way to get to me is you. If I'm gone there is no Power of Three, no demons to hunt you."
"Yeah, also a major chance of us dying early without the Power of Three to protect us," Phoebe said. "Prue, please don't!"
Piper sighed. She hoped she wouldn't have to pull this card, but she had no choice. "Mom wouldn't want this. She would want us to be together to fight whatever or whoever comes our way. Please think, Prue."
Phoebe swallowed hard. "O – Or Dad. What's he gonna do? We're his connection to Mom. Without us he has no one Prue. You can't do this!"
"Us?" Prue asked curiously. "It'd only be me, Pheebs."
Phoebe climbed up beside her.
"Ph – Phoebe, get back down here!" Piper yelled. "What are you doing?"
"She's right, Phoebe. Get down," Prue said. "You don't have a reason to do this."
"Oh, and you do?" Phoebe snapped. "Prue, you have us! We love you and…we'd be lost without you. Please don't do this."
"Life was so much easier before magic and its not like we can say a spell to reverse it, not after we burned the one," Prue said. "Why are you up here?"
Phoebe swallowed. God she hated heights! Don't look down, don't look down! "If you're jumping, then—" Prue covered her mouth.
"The rest of that sentence better not be 'then so am I!' Phoebe, you have no reason to…" Phoebe pulled Prue's hand away.
"Yes I do. I don't want to lose you, not like this. It's stupid."
"Certainly nothing I'd ever—" Piper climbed up on the other side. "recommend. Whoa! O – okay, that's a long way down! Prue please, come down so we can talk."
Prue stared at her. "Talk? TALK! How the hell is that gonna do any good, Piper? Talking isn't going to bring him back…bring anyone back."
"Suicide isn't going to help Prue. You'll only hurt more," Phoebe reasoned. "And they'd never want that."
Prue looked ahead of her. "But there's no other way to get away from it! I'm tired of warlocks and demons hunting us."
"Yeah, too bad we can't just say a spell and have everything back to normal," Piper said.
"Mostly, I'm so sick of people dying that we're trying to help! We're good people, dammit! This shouldn't happen!"
"Yeah," Phoebe agreed. "I agree…I think."
"You think? Phoebe, how does this make any sense?" Piper questioned.
"Well, for one thing we'd be free of demons."
"Yeah, whether we hunt them or not, they'll find us," Prue reasoned.
Piper nodded slowly. "Go on." As crazy as this situation was, Piper was beginning to understand. But people would send them to a mental hospital or put them in straight jacks if they noticed them standing there. "Hurry! If people see us they're gonna haul us off to an institution, Phoebe!"
"You – you're actually considering—" Phoebe questioned.
"Yes, but if you don't hurry, we'll never get a chance!"
"Another we'd all see Mom, finally…"
"Yeah, and we'd be free of everything," Prue said. "So are you two with me or not?"
Piper looked over at Phoebe. Yes, this idea was selfish, idiotic, irrational, sad…and yet, Prue was the one considering it in the first place. Ever since they were kids, Prue was always the strong one – the one to run to if things got out of hand – but she was just hurting way too much. It wasn't like she could explain exactly what happened to a shrink either. She'd definitely be gone then.
Their future didn't depend solely on her living, but Piper didn't see her or Phoebe fairing very well without her.
Piper put an arm around her. "I am, but for the record, this is officially the worst way to solve this problem. Are you sure we can't change your mind?"
Prue shook her head. "No Piper. This has to end," she looked to Phoebe. "Are you in?"
"I can't believe you – we are even considering this. I completely agree with Piper in that this is a horrible idea, but—" Phoebe put her arm around Prue, grabbing Piper's hand. "—I can't stand to live without, at least, one of you and since both of you are sure about this…you are, aren't you?" They nodded. "Yeah, I'm with you."
"I love you."
"We love you too," Phoebe said.
"Always will," Piper commented as their grips became like iron clamps.
A car was speeding past. They let the wind push them over the edge. Prue was the first to hit pavement, head first with her neck snapping in two. Piper, someway, was blown back toward the bridge and her head contacted hard, falling unconscious to the ground. Phoebe hit the speeding car head-on and died from the impact.
All three sisters died instantly, without pain, leaving the Power of Three to be no more than a memory…
THE END
Author's Note: I've had a severe bout of depression for the past few weeks.
I'm trying to finish "Released" before getting to my other stories (though I'm working on those as well). I just want to try to focus on that one and get it done.
In other news (yeah, I know it sounds lame saying it that way), I'm moving into my first apartment this week! *Grins* I'm sooooo excited! I can't wait!
Please read and review this story! I love reviews!
Piper Chris Melinda Halliwell