I claim to have no ownership over any of the characters in this chapter. Any ideas are adapted and slightly based on the show 'Charmed' as well as ideas of my own.
4x00: Prologue: Sisterly Sacrifice
The rain hit the manors attic windows hard, the storm had been battering the city of San Francisco for nearly a week straight, the bay was slowly flooding the winds had been battering down on the pier but none of this would stop Piper Halliwell from achieving her goal. Piper made sure that howling gale and the constant downpour didn't disrupt her, for her the past week and been filled with heart ache and loss.
It was hard for her to think that just one small week ago things were a thousand times better than they were at that moment, one of them being that her big sister Prue was still alive. That day kept replaying itself in her head, Shax had ambushed the two sisters and their innocent, a healer by the name of Doctor Griffiths, Prue had pushed him out of the way when The Sources assassin had launched a deadly attack and sacrificed herself. Piper kept on replaying that very moment over and over, it was the reason she didn't eat or drink and it had been the memory that had started her insomnia over the passing week, now the only thing on her mind was getting Prue back and she was going to use all the magic she could to do this, she no longer cared about if it was personal gain or not right now all that she wanted was to have her sister back with her.
She'd been looking through the family's book of shadows for the past two days trying to find some spell, potion or ritual that could bring her the answers she wanted, she stopped at one page that read 'to find a lost witch' she grabbed the ingredients that the potion required to accompany the spell, she began grinding them together as she started the chant, "Power of the witches rise, course unseen cross the skies. Come to us who call you near, Come to us and settle here." Piper added the ground up mixture to the pot before her and then grabbed an athame that lay on the table in front of her and began to slit her finger open, she let her blood fall into the pot as she continued the spell, " Blood to blood, I summon thee. Blood to blood, return to me."
The attic remained silent as Piper looked around hoping that her spell would work, but only the sound of the storm broke through her silent hope. Piper was now slowly running out of hope as well as ideas, her magic and the book were deserting her and at the same time deserting Prue as well. "I'm a good witch damn it!" she shouted as she slammed her hand down on the page she'd left open leaving a blood stain behind from her injured finger, "Now I demand you help me bring her back" She continued shouting as she looked up at the celling, Piper knew that the Elders couldn't apparently bring the dead back to life according to Leo but they'd been lied to her and her sisters before, minutes past and still nothing happened, the pages of the book of shadows remained still as well as Piper who dared not to move to show that she would stand her ground.
"Fine" Piper finally said breaking the silence, "If that's how you want to play it then I'll go over your head" She sat back down and started flipping through the old pages of the book of shadows again looking for the page that she desired, she stopped when she arrived on the page entitled Angel of Death, she scanned the page and found the summoning spell that Prue had used only months before when she'd encountered the angel herself.
"Spirits of air, sand and sea, Converge to set the angel free. On the wind I send this rhyme, bring death before me, before my time". Piper chanted, the attic was suddenly filled with bone chilling cold, a black mist slowly moved towards Piper before materializing into a tall man in black outfit.
"I'd hoped you wouldn't have taken the same path as your sister" He said as he looked down at Piper, "Don't you even talk about her" She spat back as she stood up to face the angel, "We both know there's only one reason why I've summoned you, so cut the crap and help me" Piper said hoping that she was finally nearing the end of her pain.
"True, but we also both know there is nothing I can do to help you" Death quickly retorted, "I have no sway over bringing people back from the dead, or who ends up dying as a matter of fact, I just simply follow the list" He said as he materialised a piece of parchment into his hand, "Prue's name kept appearing on my list for some time and I even warned her during out meeting to be wary" Death informed Piper, "But you're Death you've got the final say and just bring her back ok, pretend it was a mistake or an error I don't care I just want my sister back!" Piper pleaded as a tear rolled down her cheek as she started to lose hope again. "I'm sorry Piper, but you need to morn Prue and move on" Death replied as Piper looked back at him with fury and disbelief, "It was destiny for Prue to go, nothing more and neither you nor I can change destiny" Death told her before he left Piper alone again in the attic.
Thoughts were now rushing through Piper's head, not even the angel of death could help her to bring Prue back, now everything was turning against her and bring Prue back just seemed to be an idea that was slipping further and further out her grasp. Suddenly it hit her, the angel of death had said that it was destiny for Prue to die, Piper now knew where she had to go for her answers, furiously she began searching through the book for anything on destiny or spells that involved alerting destiny; she stopped when she found the closet thing a page focusing on an angel of destiny. "Bingo" She said as she scanned the pages contents for a summoning spell.
"Damn" Piper cursed as she read through the spell, it had been worded to require the power of three, "I'll just have to reword you to work for me" Piper said as she grabbed a pad and pen, her younger sister Phoebe had always been the best with the whole spell writing thing whilst Piper had focused more on the potion aspect of being a witch, the spell was reworded enough that Piper hoped it would work with just her magic, as limited as that was at the moment.
"The angel to change I call to me, and call upon destiny" Piper chanted as she stood in the centre of three candles, a magical wind whipped around the attic blowing out all the candles, a golden orb zipped through the air and burst open into a light blue robbed woman. "How dare you summon me" The angel said as she looked on at Piper, "Look I know I'm breaking all the rules here and you guys don't like that, but I'm desperate ok, I just want Prue back" Piper responded as she tried to plead her case to the angel of destiny.
"But you cannot change somebodies that has already been" Destiny told Piper, "Your destiny however, still waits for you and your sister"
"What destiny!" Piper shouted finding harder to believe that she and Phoebe still had a destiny ahead of them, "We're over Prue's gone and we can't carry on without her, that's it game over the charmed ones are finished" Piper said as a week's worth of grief, anger and sorrow poured out her as she collapsed onto the hardwood attic floor and finally broke down.
The angel of destiny looked down at her feeling sympathy for the grieving witch, "Prue's destiny has come full circle, I'm sorry but there's nothing that can be done" Destiny explained to Piper hoping that she could get the young witch to start her grieving process.
"Take me instead" Piper said suddenly as she wiped the tears off of her cheeks and moved her hair out of her face, "I'm sorry?" Destiny responded to Piper wondering exactly what she meant.
"You said that I still have a destiny and Prue doesn't, well then I'll make a trade." Piper explained, "Just swap mine and Prue's destinies, make me the one who died from Shax's attack and have her as the one that lived".
The angel couldn't quite believe what she was hearing, never had she seen somebody go to these lengths to try and save a loved by changing the course of their own destiny.
"I don't think you know the severity of what you're saying, you would swap places with Prue just to bring her back, and do you not think that she would do the same for you" Destiny questioned,
"That's why you wouldn't let her, if she tried to summon you ignore her call and never let her or Phoebe know what I did" Piper said as she pulled herself up off of the ground, "Why would you do this though, do you not think your sisters and husband shall morn for you just like you morn for Prue" Destiny asked attempting to figure out what Piper was up to.
"I know they would, but this is for the greater good, without Prue we don't stand a chance of taking down The Source, whereas Phoebe and Prue would" Piper said, "Sure they'll argue and they might not get along but when the time comes they'll get it together and work past mourning me and move on and vanquish The Source". "Look for yourself and tell me what you see for both outcomes" Piper asked as she continued to look at the angel.
Destiny nodded and activated her powers, golden lights burst from her eyes as she checked through all the possible destinies that could occur for the charmed ones.
"I see various outcomes, there's many battles on the horizon some similar and others completely different, but in every path that the charmed destiny may take there remains one key the same" The angel informed Piper.
"Then it's settled then you swap me for Prue, and make sure that neither she nor Phoebe can make the same sacrifice" Piper said as she held out her hand to make the deal with the angel of destiny, "I hope you know what you're doing Piper Halliwell, there shall be no coming back from this" the angel responded, Piper stood her ground however and let her hand remain awaiting the angel to take it and confirm there deal, "Very well, it shall be done" She said as she took the witches hand, the two of them were absorbed in gold particles and turned into the same golden sphere that the angel had arrived in before a giant flash left the attic empty.
A week earlier
Prue, Piper and Doctor Griffiths are stood in the manors foyer, "Ok Doctor Griffiths, I know that this all sounds incredible but it doesn't make it any less true" Prue said filling in the innocent that stood before her, "You're a healer you do good, now either you've saved to many lives or your about to save the life of somebody they don't want you to save" She finished explaining.
"They?" Doctor Griffiths asked,
"Demons, more specifically Shax who's The Sources assassin" Prue replied as Piper looked at her wondering how easily she could explain this to an innocent.
"This is a practical joke right, some kind of hidden camera show" Doctor Griffiths said not believing what Prue was telling him "My second wife put you up to this, it's just like her" he laughed as Piper and Prue both looked at him freak out.
"Doctor Griffiths this is anything but a…" Prue began to say before she stopped suddenly, "What?" Piper asked her older sister.
"Nothing I just felt a chill" Prue replied, "Phoebe" Prue shouted her youngest sister, "Phoebe are you there?" She asked again wondering why she didn't respond. Suddenly a giant wind vortex burst through the manors front door, "Phoebe where are you?" Prue questioned as the tornado came towards her and Piper and sent them flying to the floor before materialising into Shax.
"Dear god" Doctor Griffiths exclaimed at the sight of the demonic assassin,
"No!" Prue shouted as Shax readied an attack at the doctor, she jumped up and ran at Doctor Griffiths pushing him to the ground and out of the way and waiting for the deadly attack to hit her.
Suddenly everything stopped in the manor as the golden sphere of the angel of destiny burst into the foyer and exploded into the angel and Piper, "Why are we here?" Piper questioned as she looked on Prue frozen in time.
"This is where your destinies shall change" Destiny simply answered, with a wave of her hand Prue disappeared in a golden light and replace Piper who was lying on the floor, "You and your sister shall be switched in place and in destinies" The angel said as time resumed again.
The air filled blast slammed into a confused Piper, she screamed as she sored through the air and collided with the sunrooms exterior wall landing in the pile of rubble and debris seriously injured, "Piper!" Prue screamed confused as how she'd ended up on the floor in her sisters' place, she jumped up and ran towards the place where Piper was lying, Shax however had already charged another devastating blast and released it at Prue, the eldest witch was hit in the back as she flew head first into the remainder of the wall and landed next to her sister in the rubble of the sunrooms wall.
"What are you?" Doctor Griffiths asked in fear as Shax looked at him,
"The end" the assassin responded before he delivered one last killer blast and sent Doctor Griffiths flying across the dining room and crashing through the back window, the killer demon looked at all of his victims before he transformed back into a wind vortex and crashed through the manors front door destroying the glass panelling.
The angel of destiny and Piper looked at the destruction before them, "It is done" The angel said as Piper slowly started to fade away beside her.
"Blessed be" Piper said as she looked away from the angel and focused at Prue's unconscious body, a small tear slowly rolled down her cheek before she fully disappeared. With this the angel of destiny took one last look around her, she was not responsible for changing the entire course of the charmed ones destiny and she would now have to be the one to keep an eye on how things now played out, she took her leave and formed into a golden orb again and flashed out of the manor letting a new destiny start its course.
To Be Continued
Credits: Starring: Holly Marie Combs as Piper, Simon Templeman as The Angel of Death, Denise Dowsie as The Angel of Destiny. Guest Starring Shannen Doherty as Prue, Michael Bailey Smith as Shax and Matt Malloy as Doctor Griffiths
(Authors Note): This is a teaser for my Alternate Season Four that i'll start getting up onto the site in September, it focuses on a power of three made up off Prue, Phoebe and Paige. I personally love Piper but i wanted to try and write something different and focus on this from another angle and somewhat test myself and my writing. If you could read and review that would be great and really appreciated, i hope you look forward to the whole season coming soon :)