CHARMED

"Sisters to the End"

by shel

© april 2006

disclaimer: the charmed ones, cole, and leo, and the rest of the cast of characters we've come to know and love, belong to spelling television, inc. and possible other copyright holders. i intended no true infringement on their copyrights; i only wanted to borrow these marvelous characters for a short time in my own scenarios and hopefully return them no worse for wear; the only things i've gained from this story are the satisfaction and pleasure of having written it and in knowing that others may have enjoyed it too…

rating: pg-13

summary: phoebe's receives unexpected help in her fight against christy…

timeline: a few days after the events of s8's 'the torn identity'…(written before 'the jung and the restless' so it doesn't take into account any of those events…)

archive: please don't without expressed permission…

notes: minor references to s4's 'charmed again,' s7's 'seven year witch,' s8's 'vaya con leos,' and s2's 'morality bites'…please let me know if you enjoyed my tale and why and, if not, why not…and, please, don't bother wasting your time or mine by sending any flames…

Part One

"You set me up!"

Phoebe ducked and rolled out of the way from the incoming energy ball. The table of books only partially protected her but it suddenly exploded from another attack. She winced at the loss of more texts that good magic might never be able to recover, not that good magic had true access to Magic School anymore. If only Christy had chosen another location to hide out. But another energy ball whizzed by her head and she grabbed another vial from her shoulder bag as she darted for safety behind the large desk. As she aimed at the demon, she realized that if the trap didn't work, she'd have to make a run for it. She didn't have enough vanquishing potions left to go solo against another demonic contingent that Christy would undoubtedly send and, unfortunately, Magic School no longer offered the same protection it once did.

"Where's Billie!"

"Don't worry," Phoebe smiled sweetly as she stood when the demon exploded in agony, "my sisters are with her. They'll keep her safe."

"I'm her sister!" Christy shrieked. "I'll keep her safe, safe from the likes of you!"

"Don't bet on it," Phoebe countered. "You were out of her life longer than you were in it. You think a few weeks back home and you've influenced her enough to turn her back on everything she believes in? Dream on, sister…"

"You killed our parents. You and your sisters and Billie knows that," Christy taunted as she brought her hands to her temples and squeezed her eyes shut.

But Phoebe saw the motion and sent a different vial flying at Christy. She did grimace in pain for a moment or two as she felt the heat coursing through her. But it was only for a moment and she soon discovered that her trap had worked.

"What the hell is this?"

"This," Phoebe grinned as she indicated to the white electric grid trapping the firestarter, "was a hell of a long shot. Now," she added as she brushed the dirt off her pants, "we can do this the easy way or the hard way. Your choice."

"What're you talking about?" Christy struggled within the grid but every time she touched it, she was shocked by the electric current.

"First things first," Phoebe murmured. She needed to strengthen the trap or Christy would eventually break free and she needed to give as much time as possible to her sisters to talk sense into Billie. Somehow, she felt she had the easier job. "Evil lies she will not spin, not while good magic traps her in."

"No!" Christy tried to break free again but, this time, the shock was powerful enough to knock her off her feet.

Relieved the spell worked, Phoebe stared at Christy and, surprisingly enough, felt pity for the young woman. "You never had a chance did you? You were so young when you were kidnapped and I'm sure they filled your head with all sorts of tales about the evils of witches. What'd they say, that they would help you save Billie if you worked with them against us?"

"Shut up!"

"Don't you see, Christy?" Phoebe approached the grid, "Billie's not the one who needs saving. It's you. She's spent her whole life searching for you, learning her craft, all to find you. And she did. She's given up so much of her life for you. And now she's lost her parents."

"Because of Piper!" Christy retorted as she finally managed to crawl to her knees. "Because of you!"

But Phoebe continued in a calm voice as if she hadn't heard, "You're all Billie has left. Don't let all her sacrifices be in vain. Don't let her lose you too. Trust me, losing a sister isn't something you ever get over and --"

"What would you know?" Christy grunted as she touched the grid again.

Taken aback that the Triad hadn't given Christy a complete overview of the Charmed Ones, Phoebe told her, "Paige wasn't one of the original Charmed Ones. My, our, oldest sister, Prue, was. But Prue, she was killed by a demon. And not a day goes by that I don't feel her loss. Don't put Billie through that pain, not when you can do something about it. Let Billie help. Let Billie, let us, save you."

Christy pretended to consider Phoebe's words, all the while she was telepathically trying to reach that nasty little Sharkle demon she'd once met in her training. "Your sister was killed?"

"You can't imagine the loss. Please don't put Billie through that pain. Let us help you both," Phoebe quietly entreated.

Christy now spotted the creature phase into the room behind Phoebe and she smiled, "Not a chance…"

Cursing herself for allowing Christy to distract her with thoughts of Prue, Phoebe was already reaching into her bag for another vial but the fire was already emitting from the demon's claws and she hadn't managed to grab the vial. And just as she was about to jump out of the way, she was shoved to the ground by a heavy force that hit her from behind.

"Stay down!"

It wasn't the command that caused her to freeze but the voice behind it. And she found herself unable to look in that direction to see if it was true.

"Who the hell are you?" Christy demanded after the tall stranger quickly destroyed the demon. But she didn't wait for an answer before calling for reinforcements.

Phoebe spotted two new demons from the corner of her eye and quickly sat up to find two others approaching from the opposite direction. "I'll get these two!" She reached into her bag and grabbed two of her last four vanquishing potions and quickly fired one at one of the demons. She was already aiming for the second demon but its fire bolt caught her by surprise and she doubled over in pain. Another bolt singed her shoulder and she tamped down the pain long enough to heave her vial in the demon's direction. She fell to her knees and only vaguely heard the multiple demonic screams before she curled into a ball on the floor and let the darkness overwhelm her even as she whispered, "Cole…"

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He pressed the cloth to the burn on her abdomen and hoped she would wake soon. He was pretty sure he was in Magic School but he had no idea when nor why the place wasn't swarming with children or witches. If only his future-self had given him some information. But no, all his future-self had said was that Phoebe was in danger and needed him. And now he was stuck with a trapped witch and an unconscious Phoebe whom, he knew, was not happy to see him. Still, he realized as he swept some hair from her face, she was still Phoebe and he still loved her.

Phoebe opened her eyes to find herself staring into his worried blue ones. But she couldn't speak. She could only stare. And she was all set to push him away from her. Except that her traitorous hand decided to move and she found herself lightly, almost nervously, stroking his scruffy beard. "You look like hell, Cole," she informed him.

"Not the first time you've told me that," he shrugged. Of course, that time, she'd been referring to Belthazor, not himself.

She didn't remember what he was referring to but didn't have time to find out. She had to first make sure Christy was still trapped and that her sisters were successful with Billie before she could begin to deal with Cole's unexpected appearance. She pushed him back as she slowly sat up on the sofa. To her relief, she was still in Magic School and Christy was still trapped in her electric grid. But Christy was crumpled on the floor in its center and, unfortunately, as soon as Phoebe tried to get up to investigate, the searing pain caused her to stumble and she fell right back into his lap.

He refused to let her see that her attempt to crawl away from his touch hurt. "Easy…" He helped settle her back on the cushion, "it's a nasty burn. Your shoulder isn't as bad. Why don't you call for Leo?"

Phoebe shut her eyes. The last thing she wanted was to fill him on her life. How did he get there? "What's wrong with Christy?" she wondered with her eyes still closed as she felt the cloth being pressed to her wound again.

He stiffened but only for a moment and maintained the pressure on the burn. "If you mean the witch in that trap, I didn't know what you were up to but figured you'd meant her to be in there so I added a bit of strength it. She put up a bit of a struggle and the shock knocked her out."

"How do you know she's a witch?" Phoebe asked, opening her eyes.

"I've always been able to sense demons, you know that," he reminded her. "But I didn't sense that from her. Not that she seems completely good but she's definitely not demonic."

"Good," she murmured, "maybe we can still save her after all."

"What's going on?" Cole questioned as he had a tube of ointment and some bandages appear next to him. "Who is she? And why were you fighting her alone? Where are your sisters?"

Phoebe shook her head and tried not to wince as he tended to her wound.

He noticed and apologized, "I wish I could heal you but that's one of the few powers I didn't manage to acquire from the Wasteland."

She also tried not to feel comforted by his gentle touch and instead focused on the current situation with Christy. "Don't worry about it, I've got it under control."

Cole was gingerly spreading more ointment on the burn and offered, "Maybe I can help."

"Haven't you done enough?" She regretted the harsh words the instant they slipped through her lips. But he'd already abruptly stood and turned from her. "I'm sorry," she quickly apologized. "You saved me and I should be grateful."

"It's okay," he replied. But he didn't turn to face her.

"No, it's not," she commented as she carefully stood and approached him from behind. She placed her hands flat on his back but removed them the instant she felt his muscles tense. "I was in the middle of this…look, Cole, it's a pretty bad situation right now and I'm more than a bit scared it's gonna blow up in our faces. And then you show up and, well, you were an easy target. I really am sorry for what I said."

"Obviously things never got better between us," he realized aloud. "I'm sorry." She was silent and he added, "But you're still in danger or I'd have been returned to my time so why don't you fill me in on what's going on?"

Phoebe let him lead her back to the sofa as her mind swirled with thoughts of what she should say. "How are you here?"

"My future-self paid me a visit in the middle of me trying to…never mind," he mumbled. No need to tell her he'd been trying to figure out how to end his miserable existence. "He told me you were in trouble and next thing I knew, I was here." He finished pressing the bandages to her wound and he glanced at her only to find her eyes wide with shock. "Did I hurt you? Just now, I mean…"

His future-self? "That's impossible," she whispered. "It couldn't've been. You're not --"

When she stopped speaking in mid-sentence, Cole immediately understood, "I'm not alive in this time, am I?" She didn't answer but the fact that she averted her eyes was confirmation enough. "How would a ghost have the power to send someone through time?" But one look at her face and he realized the situation was worse than he suspected. "Phoebe?"

At the risk of changing the past when he'd go back, she only admitted, "You don't exist anymore, Cole, not in any way."

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