When Dreams Attack
Twentieth episode in the Fourth Sister Series
Music Credit: The Child Is Gone by Fiona Apple
A/N: All right, well if you're a Buffy fan, you'll recognize that this fic was very much inspired by Buffy's fourth season finale. I intend no theft of any kind. It's all in good fun. I wear the cheese. The cheese does not wear me. J
Piper laid on her stomach, munching on popcorn while Phoebe sat beside her and braided her hair. They were dressed in their pajamas and waiting in Price's bedroom while Price had gone to get movies from the rental store.
"Have I ever told you that I absolutely love your hair?" Phoebe asked as she braided one strand over another.
"Seriously?" Piper asked.
"Absolutely," her little sister replied. "You were definitely blessed with mom's hair. It's gorgeous and you really don't have to do much for it to look great."
Piper chuckled. "I'd never thought about it," she said. "Actually I used to envy the fact that you and Prue looked good with short hair. I don't think I would. Of course, I've never had the guts to see if I'm right."
Phoebe gently tugged on Piper's hair as she playfully reprimanded her sister. "Don't you ever cut your hair. I'll have to hurt you if you do."
"Yes, ma'am," Piper said with a small salute. Phoebe finished with the braid and then laid down on her stomach next to Piper. They both looked up when Price entered the room with three movies in her hands.
"Okay, we've got Moulin Rouge, Gladiator, and Kate & Leopold," Price said. "Which first?"
"That's a weird combination of choices," Phoebe commented as she reached for some popcorn.
"Well, they're all movies I wanted to see, but never got the chance to," she said. "Demon fighting kind of interferes with my movie time."
"I vote for Gladiator," Phoebe said.
"Ew, too much blood. I've heard about that movie," Piper said, making a stink face.
"But come on. Russell Crowe in one of those ancient Roman uniforms, all rugged and stuff," Phoebe said with raised eyebrows.
"I say Kate & Leopold," Piper said. "Nice and quiet. And Hugh Jackman is so much better than Russell Crowe."
"Moulin Rouge it is," Price said. The other two looked to her in confusion. "Ewan McGregor will have to be the compromise. And it's not like we're not going to watch them all."
The other two giggled and agreed to watch Moulin Rouge first. Price popped the tape in the VCR and then laid on some pillows on the floor at the foot of the bed. The green FBI warning screen illuminated their faces.
But the previews for other movies had barely begun and somehow all three of them had already fallen fast asleep. Price laid on her side with her right arm tucked under her head. Phoebe was still on her stomach, her right arm tucked under her body and her left arm dangling over the edge of the bed. Piper had rolled onto her back with her left arm under her head and her right resting on her stomach. Her eyes moved quickly under her eyelids, showing that she was already in REM sleep.
She walked down the middle of the street toward Fisherman's Wharf. It was the middle of the day, but it was as deserted and quiet as a country field. The boats drifted up and down with the water like ducks in a pond, content with basking in the sun.
"Beautiful day."
Piper turned to the voice and nodded. Cole was standing a few feet away from her. He was leaning against a motorcycle and eating cotton candy. He wore a tuxedo which had a char mark on the white shirt.
"I've seen better," she commented.
"I've seen worse," he said back. He stuffed some cotton candy into his mouth. "You'll see worse."
"Then I have something to look forward to," she said.
She turned and continued walking. The scenery gradually changed until she found herself walking through a door into the attic of the Manor. Leo and Phoebe were sitting Indian-style and meditating, floating a couple feet off the floor. Melinda was sitting on the floor with an atheme in her hands. Piper went over and took the atheme away.
"That's not for you sweetie," she said. She turned and Hope stood in the attic doorway. Piper looked at her hand and saw that the atheme had turned into a sword.
"It's for you," Hope said. "But do you know how to use it and when?"
"I have an idea of how," Piper replied, eyeing the long blade in her hand.
"The when will come later," Hope said. "Just be ready."
"I will."
A noise from downstairs caught Piper's attention and the sword disappeared from her hand. She headed out of the attic and down the stairs, ending up in the parlor. She heard the noise again. It sounded like footsteps, bare footsteps.
"Who's there?" Piper called. She got no response. She walked into the dining room and spun around when she realized someone was behind her. It was a man she didn't recognize. He was holding a tray with Goldfish crackers arranged in the shape of a P.
"The Goldfish should not intimidate you," he said. Piper stared at him, confused and then dismissed him, heading for the kitchen where she had heard the noise come from.
Tara, Leena, Price and Puck were sitting at the kitchen table playing poker. But instead of poker chips they were placing their wagers with what appeared to be magical amulets.
"I'll see your two amulets and raise you five," Leena said, taking her turn after Tara. Puck was next.
"I'll see your seven amulets and raise you…" he paused, reaching into his coat pocket with his free hand. "…my badge." He tossed it on the pile of amulets on the center of the table.
Tara and Leena both 'oohed' and looked at his badge wide-eyed. They laid their cards on the table.
"Too rich for me," Tara said. Leena nodded her head in agreement. Price looked at Puck with a suspicious eye.
"You're bluffing," she said. "Call. What have you got?"
"Straight," he said, laying his cards on the table with a grin. He started to reach for the pile in the center of the table when Price grabbed his arm. She had a smug look on her face as she spread her cards out.
"Full house. Aces over jacks." Puck sat back in his chair and pouted, crossing his arms across his chest. Price started to rake her winnings toward her when she noticed Piper.
"Oh hey, sis," she said. "You want in on the next hand? I'll spot you five amulets."
Piper shook her head. "No, thanks. I've got demons to kill."
She left the kitchen and walked out toward the parlor. She looked out the window and saw a large mob outside. They were holding signs that had various slanders against magic and quoted Bible verses about evil. The mob wasn't making any noise, however. The people were just standing there. In the front was the news reporter that had caught her and Prue using magic on tape, Elana Dominguez. Next to her stood her cameraman, and next to him stood Alice Hicks, who was holding a rifle in her hands.
"Wicked witches," Alice said calmly. "Wicked witches die."
Darryl emerged from the crowd then and approached the window. Piper opened the window and Darryl climbed through it.
"Thanks Piper. I thought that mob was going to trample me to death," he said. "My captain wants to talk to you."
"He'll have to get in line," Piper commented.
She heard the footsteps again, closer this time, and she turned. She gasped as a long knife slid into her flesh, and pain shot throughout her body. She looked into the yellow eyes that stared back at her, and all that went through Piper's mind was that she should've joined the poker game.
In Price's bedroom, Piper convulsed and blood trickled from the side of her mouth. She made gagging noises, but this didn't disturb Phoebe or Price, who were both still asleep, making their way through their dreams.
She awoke in her bedroom in the Manor. It was decorated as it had been when she was a young girl. She turned to her left and saw her favorite teddy bear, Mr. Biggles. She reached over with her left arm and picked up the bear. It's eyes focused on her and then began talking with Cole's voice.
"You can't be dependent without being independent first," he said. She smiled.
"That's why I love you, Mr. Biggles," she said. "You always know what's best for me."
"You have to learn what's best for you on your own," the bear said. "You have to let me go. Give me up."
"But I don't want to," Phoebe said.
"Sometimes what you want isn't what's best."
She set the bear down and got out of bed. Phoebe walked through her bedroom door and was in the cave she had found Cole in on the day of Prue's death. The Source and Hope were sitting on the floor cross-legged playing chess; Hope was using the white pieces while the Source used the black.
"Your move," the Source said impatiently. "What is taking you so long?"
"I could've asked you the same thing earlier," Hope said. "You've waited over a millennium for this. You can wait a little longer."
"Easy for you to say. You're on negative time," the Source growled. "Move!"
Hope looked at him calmly, gripped the queen in her fingertips and moved it while never breaking eye contact with the Source. "Check mate."
The Source howled in rage and then burst into flames. He quickly disappeared and Hope looked to Phoebe.
"You wanna play? You can choose your color," she said, holding up the white queen and black king.
"No thanks," Phoebe said. "I should be going."
"Well, if you change your mind, just let me know which color you want to be."
Phoebe turned and walked out of the cave. She looked down and saw she wasn't dressed in pajamas anymore. Instead she was wearing a black evening gown. She walked into P3. The club was set up for what looked like an elite party. Men in tuxedos and women in long dresses. Price walked over, arm-in-arm with Puck. Price was wearing a red sequined gown. She smiled at Phoebe.
"Hey, Pheebs, it's the big night," Price said. "Are you ready?"
"Ready for what?"
"Don't tell me you forgot."
"It's your big debut," Puck added.
"Debut for what?"
The other two just laughed. "You're yanking our chains," Price said. "Well, see you later."
They went off and Phoebe looked over when she saw Piper on stage. Her older sister was wearing a strapless white gown. But the front was stained with blood where a gaping wound glistened in the stage lights. Piper seemed unphased by this. She grabbed the microphone and addressed the crowd.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to bring on tonight's headlining performer," Piper said. "I am proud to introduce for her first time on stage right here in P3, my little sister, Phoebe Halliwell."
Phoebe looked around as everybody applauded and the spotlight came on her. She headed toward the stage. She was almost there when a man in a suit stepped in front of her holding a tray. On the tray was a line of Goldfish crackers all pointing in the same direction.
"I've got them all ready," he said with a proud grin. Phoebe just stared at him for a moment and then walked by him.
She climbed on stage and took the microphone from Piper. The drummer started up the beat, the piano player joined him and then the tune filled the club with its smooth, mellow sound. Phoebe turned then, no longer confused by why she was on stage. She sang in a low, sultry voice.
Darling, give me your absence tonight.
Take the shade from the canvas and leave me the white.
Let me sink in the silence that echoes inside.
And don't bother leaving the light on.
'Cuz I suddenly feel like a different person.
From the roots of my soul come a gentle coercion
And I ran my hand o'er a strange inversion
A vacancy that just did not belong
The child is gone
Phoebe noticed someone moving through the crowd that did not look like he or she belonged there. The person was not wearing a tuxedo or a gown. The person walked in a stooped manner, as if on the prowl and ready to pounce. She lost sight of the person and continued singing.
Honey help me out of this mess
I'm a stranger to myself
But don't reach for me, I'm too far away
I don't wanna talk 'cuz there's nothing left to say
So my
Darling, give me your absence tonight
Take all of your sympathy and leave it outside
'Cuz there's no kind of loving that can make this all right
I'm trying to find a place I belong
She saw the person again, making a path toward the stage. Piper was leaning against the bar. Leo was next to her in a tuxedo, just like all the other men. He leaned over, seemingly in slow motion, and whispered something in Piper's ear. Still in slow motion as Phoebe sang, Piper laughed at whatever Leo had said. The red spot on the front of her white gown was growing in size.
And I suddenly feel like a different person
From the roots of my soul come a gentle coercion
And I ran my hand o'er a strange inversion
As the darkness turns into dawn
The child is gone
The child is gone
The person that had been stalking through the crowd hurled himself at Phoebe now. The audience was applauding Phoebe's performance, seemingly oblivious to what was happening on the stage. Phoebe's screams suddenly ceased as the attacker squeezed its hands around Phoebe's throat. She tried to take in air, but she couldn't. She stared into the yellow eyes that were filled with malevolence as her lungs burned.
Phoebe stopped breathing and started writhing on the bed. Piper was motionless beside her. None of this affected Price, who still slept soundly on the floor.
The clock struck midnight and Price jolted awake. She looked around and saw that she was lying on the sofa in the parlor. She sat up and saw goldfish crackers in a circle on the coffee table. A man in a suit was sitting in an armchair across from her. He smiled at her and said, "The Goldfish expect nothing."
"Good for them," she said with a raised eyebrow. She stood and walked toward the front door. She opened it and found Puck standing on the front porch. He turned and handed her a bouquet of orchids.
"Your favorite," he said as she took the bouquet.
"Actually, I prefer lilies, but orchids are nice," she said. She walked through the house toward the kitchen, but stopped in the dining room where Piper was lying on the dining room table. Her hands were folded on her stomach covering a large, gaping stomach wound. Price unfolded Piper's hands, set the orchids over the wound and then replaced Piper's hands. "There, that's better."
She continued into the kitchen. Phoebe was sitting at the kitchen table. Her lips were blue and her face was pale. She looked over at Price with pleading eyes. Her mouth opened and closed like a fish's would out of water. Price went to the refrigerator, pulled out a bottled water and set it on the table in front of Phoebe. Then she walked toward the basement door. Just as she reached for the door knob, Leo orbed in front of her.
"I wouldn't go down there if I were you," he said.
"You're not me."
"It's not pretty," he said.
"It never is," she shot back. "What's down there?"
"Evil that you've never faced before. It's older than time."
"It's always that way. We'll manage."
"This is different."
"I don't see how," she replied.
She pushed him out of the way and pushed the door open. She looked down the stairs and saw that rather than leading to the basement they led to a meadow. It was unrealistic, like a Monet painting. The flowers were blurred and brighter than they should have been. Everything was very bright, and nothing looked evil. But as she looked around Price saw something dark out of the corner of her moving through a patch of flowers. But when she looked over, it was gone.
Across the field Leena and Tara were lying on a picnic blanket. Tara was absently pulling up grass. She would throw a handful of it at Leena and instead of being hit by grass, Leena would be hit with splotches of green paint. She would then blow dandelion fluff on Tara, and it would turn into white paint splotches on Tara's clothes.
"What are you two doing here?" Price asked.
"Just waiting," Leena said.
"Waiting for what?"
"Oblivion," Tara replied with a grin. "It's coming. If you don't stop it."
"How do I stop it?" Price asked.
"Not you, silly," Tara said.
"You," Leena said with emphasis.
"I don't understand," Price said, watching her friends splatter each other with paint.
"It doesn't matter," Tara said. "You don't need to understand. All you need to do is react."
"To what?"
"To evil," Leena said. "The Source. What else would we be talking about?"
Price turned then and continued walking through the meadow. She saw Darryl and Cole off to one side playing catch with a football. Cole overthrew one to Darryl and Price caught it. But what she caught wasn't a football. It was Melinda. Darryl ran over to her.
"Good save," he said. He took Melinda from Price and went back over to Cole. Price continued walking and she ended up in an empty parking lot that was surrounded by desert land.
"Hello?" she called, looking around her. Suddenly Hope appeared several yards away from her. "Who are you?"
"I've told you who I am," she said. She took a few steps forward. "And I think you know which side I'm on, no matter how much you doubt it."
"Yeah, I do."
"But I'm not here to speak for me," she said.
"Then who do you speak for?"
"It," she said. A dark form appeared a few feet away from Price and Hope. It had the shape of a slouched over human, but all it was was darkness with two yellow eyes.
"Can't it speak for itself?" Price asked. "I don't really like middle-men…or women."
"It has no words. It's before words. Before time. Before everything," Hope said. "It is everything."
"Wow. I'm in the presence of God," Price said with a smirk.
"Not God," Hope said. She was now speaking for It. "I'm more than God. God is a part of me. You're a part of me."
"So what are you?"
The dark creature circled Price, staring at her with its bright eyes. It was observing her, taking in every aspect of her.
"I am everything."
"You're evil."
"I'm good and evil. I'm neutral. It all is a part of me," Hope said.
"If you're good and evil, why are you trying to kill us?" Price asked. "Usually neutral means neutral."
"It'll keep the balance," Hope said. "With the Source's demise, the balance is thrown. I will keep it."
"By killing the Charmed Ones?"
"The most powerful goes with the most powerful."
"Then it all seems kind of pointless. Why have we been trying so hard to kill the Source if we're supposed to go down with him?"
"It's the way of things."
"The way of things?" Price asked. "Why is that always the excuse? The way of things? We've been told that the Elders sent me away because of the way of things. Prue died because of the way of things. Our mom died because of the way of things. That's such a lame excuse."
"It is not the excuse. It is the reason."
"Well, I say we make a different way of things. Our way of things. There's no point to this fight if we're just meant to die. So it's our way. Not your way."
"It must be this way."
It kept circling her, staring. Price wasn't intimidated. She folded her arms across her chest and smiled.
"You say you're older than time, than words," she said. She began pacing. It stopped circling and crouched on the ground, still staring. "Does the way of things need to be that old? The way of things that long ago is not the way of things now. Things change over a millennium or two. So, let's do this already." She spread her arms and approached it in a daring manner. "If you can really kill us, go for it."
Hope disappeared and it growled. It lunged at her, but Price turned and jumped back out of the way. It turned, unphased by this miss. It went after her again, and Price held her hand out, throwing it backwards telekinetically. It quickly jumped back up and continued going after her. It got a few good blows in and knocked Price to the ground. It was about to bring something sharp down into Price, when Price disappeared in a white glow. She reappeared in the same position behind it. She looked up confused.
"New power?"
She didn't have time to think about it as it went after her again. She grabbed its arm and spun it around, throwing it across the parking lot. It started charging her again, but she deflected it telekinetically.
"You know what? I'm tired of this," she said. It glared at her with its yellow eyes.
She woke up in the same place she had fallen asleep. Price sat up on the floor of her bedroom and looked around. The movie had ended, now all there was on the television was a blue screen. Phoebe and Piper sat up on the bed and the three of them looked at each other in confusion. Phoebe was rubbing her neck, which had no bruises, and Piper was looking down where the wound in her dream had been to find it gone.
The three of them looked toward the bedroom door when they heard a floorboard creak. Piper and Price stood up, ready to take on the offensive with their powers. The door slowly opened, and they all breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Leo standing there.
"Hey, I just got home and I thought I'd check on you three," he said. He noticed that they seemed a little on edge. "You okay?"
The sisters smiled at each other. "Yeah, I think we're fine," Piper said. "Although I don't think I'll ever look at a Goldfish cracker the same way again."
Leo stared at his wife in confusion while the other two just laughed. Phoebe left the room to get the Book of Shadows, and Price went to get something to drink.
"What's going on?" Leo asked.
"Our dreams sort of attacked," Piper said. "But don't worry. Price woke up and took care of it for us."
THE END