Charmed:
PLEASE READ ALL!!!!
AN: Okay, so, in this alternate universe, Patty died when the children were young just like in the show, but a while after Prue died the Elders thought they would give a little back to the Charmed ones by bringing their mother back as a Whitelighter. This helped Piper and Phoebe deal with the loss of their sister and it also helped Paige enter into the family easier. Piper was a little more accepting than she was in the show. Now, this doesn't mean that her little break down didn't happen. The one where she turned into a demon. In my version, they got their mother back after that episode.
Anyways, in this alternate universe, Piper is still married to Leo, and they already had a baby, but not Wyatt. I'm sorry to inform you that there will be no baby Wyatt in this version. There will be Chris though. I wanted him to be an only child. Don't ask why, I just did.
And another thing, Phoebe and Cole are a couple. This is set somewhere around the fourth season, but there isn't an evil Cole in this one. No, Cole found a way to become fully human, so he hasn't any powers.
Paige is still single, so nothing's changed with her. And her hair isn't going to change either! I hated it when she died it red, so her hair is staying black and curly. But about Paige….since she's gotten the chance to know her mother, she and Patty have become close. And they both can relate because they are both sort of whitelighters. Oh yeah, I forgot, Paige is a whitelighter, and she can heal.
Okay, now that I've covered that stuff, I'll get to the living arrangements. Piper and Paige still live at the Manor. Phoebe and Cole live in the apartment that Phoebe lives in, in the 8th season. Leo and Piper have the biggest room in the Manor, and he doesn't have a problem living there with them. And he's also still a whitelighter. So if they are ever in need of healing, there's a very likely chance that one of the whitelighters will be there, so it will be difficult making up a problem where healing powers are in need, but cannot be accessed. But, I think I can do it.
Ummmm, let's see…..Patty stays in Phoebe's bedroom, keeping everything the same. Paige is still in Prue's room.
That's it! Now, I will start off with one story and see where it leads. I may do a whole new season, starting with season 5. I don't know. Just leave me a review and tell me whether I should or not. This would be my first Charmed story ever written, so yeah, I'm a virgin to the fanfiction world of charmed. Ask me to write a Gilmore Girls story and I can do it in like five minutes, but for some reason, I have trouble writing charmed and I've watched the show more than I've seen Gilmore girls. By the way, if I have any of my "I'm all in" readers on here, don't worry. I'll update soon. I' just having a lack of inspiration for that story.
I apologize for the LONG authors note, but I had to tell everyone what was going on.
Now for the story………
It was midnight and Piper was sleeping so peacefully in her bed with Leo by her side, wrapping his arms around her. Then it happened. The most annoying, depressing, and scary sound played into the ears of the now eldest sister.
It was annoying that she had to be woken up, depressing, because she now had to get up out of the bed, and scary because she didn't not know what was wrong that had possessed her baby to start crying.
Piper ran into the nursery and witnessed a demon using some kind of power on her son. "Get away from my baby you bastard!!" She screamed and tried to blow him up with her hands. The demon stammered back, but did not explode. Piper tried again and the same thing happened. He merely smiled back at her and continued doing something evil to her son.
Piper ran forward and tried kicking him out of the way this time. It worked and he fell to the floor, angry. "You stupid witch!!" He screamed and sent a blue fireball at her.
Piper took a little too much time to respond, and the fireball came flying into her side, knocking her into the wall. This gave the demon a head start.
Leo, who had been sleeping somehow through all the noise, woke up, and rushed to his wife and baby. He saw the demon over Chris and orbed over to him. The orbing of the whitelighter caught the demon off guard. He stopped what he was doing to Chris, while Leo started beating the crap out of him.
That was all Leo could do until the demon shimmered out of the room and out of the house. He was stopped for now, but there was no telling how long it would be 'til he came back.
"Piper!" He yelled, running over to his unconscious wife. Her side and shirt were all bloody, and she looked as thought she wasn't breathing. He immediately used his healing powers on her and in a few more minutes, she opened her eyes. "Is he gone??" She said, sitting up slowly with the help of Leo.
"Yeah, but I don't know for how long. Are you okay???"
"Yeah, I'm fine…..I think." She stood up and felt a pain in her lower back. " But I think I pulled a muscle." She frowned.
"Sorry, that'll have to heal on it's own. If it didn't heal when I healed you, it must mean that you didn't pull it when the demon hit you." Leo explained.
"Yeah, I pulled it when I was rushing to save my son's life." It was then that Piper and Leo remembered their son who had all of a sudden become very quiet. "Damn it!" Piper said as she a Leo ran over to look at him.
Chris was sleeping somewhat peacefully. His little chest moving up and down. "What do you think he was trying to do to him?? Usually the demons just try and steal him. And why couldn't I blow him up??" Piper asked.
"I don't know. Do you remember what he looked like?" Piper nodded. "Okay, then it's time to look at the book and see what we can do. In the meantime, someone has to watch our son. I'll do it if you want, and you can run upstairs."
"Yeah, okay." Piper yawned. "God, I'm so sleep deprived." She walked out of the bedroom with a worried Leo watching her leave. He, unlike Piper, had gotten a decent amount of sleep. He was usually a deep sleeper, and he didn't wake up when Chris did. So Piper got up with him all the time. Now he felt like he was being a bad father to his son and a bad husband to his wife all at the same time. But he was going to try and fix that.
Piper entered the cold, dark attic and flipped on the switch. "God, it was not this cold downstairs….." She noticed.
The book was in the same place as it usually was, and in the same position too. She walked over to it and opened it up, skimming the pages as quickly as she could.
A few minutes went by and she heard the attic floor squeak. She looked up fast, fearing that it was the demon.
But there wasn't any demon. Just her mother. "I'm sorry, did I wake you??" Piper asked sweetly.
Patty shook her head and continued walking over to her daughter. "No." She sighed, and rubbed Piper's back a little. "Do you remember when you were little and you snuck out of the house one night??"
Piper smiled. "Yeah, Prue and I were playing an adventure game, or at least I thought we were. Turns out she was just trying to get me into trouble." Piper laughed at the thought of her older sister being mean to her. Yeah, Prue and Piper had been very, very close, but there was also a lot of sibling rivalry between them when they were younger because of the closeness of age and just because they did a lot of things together.
"Well," Her mother continued. "That night, I woke up and I had this terrible feeling about you."
Piper looked surprised. "What kind of terrible feeling??"
"I can't describe it, but I knew that I needed to get to you. I knew something was wrong." Patty smiled. "I guess you could call it a mother's instinct. Tonight, I sensed you with my powers, but I also sensed you without them. Something just didn't feel right and I woke up thinking of you…."
"I wish I had that with Chris…." Piper thought. "I only awoke because I heard him crying. Did Leo tell you what happened??"
"No, I came straight up here. A demon attacked Chris??"
"Yeah," Piper sighed a heavy sigh. "He was doing something to him and then he threw a fire ball at me." Piper was starting to feel very emotional. "Mom, my power didn't work on him, and he knocked me out with his powers. What kind of mother can't protect her own child? Maybe I'm not cut out for this."
"Come here." Patty pulled Piper into a warm and loving hug. Suddenly, all the coldness and darkness of the room just disappeared. Her mom had a way of doing that. She made everything seem okay, even though Piper knew something was definitely wrong. "I know you are cut out for this. Chris loves you, I can tell. And I know you love him. You are just going through a hard time and a lot of stress. And plus, your still new at this. Pretty soon, though, you'll get a hang of it. You can't imagine how many demons tried to go after you guys when you were babies. Thankfully, I had my mom to help through it, and now you have yours….." Patty pulled back and cupped her hands around Piper's face. "Don't worry. We'll get past this demon, just like all the others. And who knows, it could be as simple as flipping a switch. With the right information, we can beat him." She looked towards the BOS. "Now, did you find anything??"
Piper turned back around. "No, not yet. I only just started, and I have a lot more pages to go."
Patty grabbed the book and motioned Piper toward the couch. The two of them sat down together, and flipped through the pages. Piper's head on her mother's shoulder, and her legs curled to the side.
When they reached almost the end of the book, Piper's eyes almost popped out of her head. "That's him!" She pointed. Patty started reading aloud. "Symphony of Pain??" She questioned the demons title. "Upper level demon. Feeds off of two things: witches to be, and torture. He usually steals his energy from infants or little children. His powers are fire throwing, and shimmering. He uses them to kill and by hurting his victims, he forever traps them into pain until it finally becomes to much and they die. He can only be vanquished by the power of three…." Patty read the highlights. She glanced over at her daughter. "Okay, he can be vanquished by the power of three so we've got it covered. We'll just get the three of you to summon him tomorrow, or whenever and you guys can make this potion," She pointed to the book. "And say a spell." Patty left out what didn't need to be said, for she didn't want to worry Piper. "Don't worry about Chris, he'll just be a little weak for a while. All the demon did was steal some power, which was not a lot, because you and Leo stopped him. And by power, I mean energy. I guess from all the powers he used on his victims, which aren't usually magical people, he gets weak, and he uses a child's power to renew himself. I'm guessing though, he knew you were a witch and he knew that Chris would hold a lot of power within him."
Piper thought about all of it. "Alright, it all makes sense now. But do we wait until tomorrow, or do it now? I'm sure Phoebe won't be happy though, if we do it now. The last time Paige and I orbed over there to bring her back here during the night, she threw everything she could at me. Then again, Phoebes always has been hard to wake up."
Patty laughed. "Yeah, I could tell when she was born that she'd bring some trouble." She smiled. "But, she turned out okay. You all did."
"Now, I'll keep watch for the demon, while you get some sleep. We'll vanquish him tomorrow."
"Okay, let's go inform Leo." Piper stood up, placed the book on the stand and walked back out of the attic, her mother following closely behind.
"Leo!" Piper yelled at him, slapping him on the shoulder.
"Huh? What?" He opened his eyes, looking very groggy.
"You feel asleep! You were supposed to watch Chris!"
"I'm sorry, but it's like two in the morning, I got a little tired." Leo looked over at Chris in his cradle. "He's fine."
Piper looked too, along with Patty. "I know, we just have to keep an eye out. He's not going to go away that easily. Chris is still in danger."
"Okay, so did you find anything in the book." Leo asked, getting off the chair and stretching.
"He's called….what was it??" Piper asked, but not really. "It was some weird name…Oh yeah!! The Symphony of Pain or something with pain. Anyways…" Piper began but was interrupted. Patty, who was listening, sort of, was busy watching her grandson.
"Wait! What did you say?? The demon of symphony??" Leo's worry lines started to appear.
"Why? You know him?"
Leo sat back down and ran his hands through his hair. A habit he had gotten into doing whenever something was really bothering him or he was really stressed. Sometimes both. "This can't be happening."
"What? What's happening? Leo, tell me what's happening." Piper demanded of him. Leo sighed and looked up at bother her and Patty, who had suddenly become very interested in the conversation.
"A long time ago, before we met." Leo motioned to Piper. "….The elders faced the most horrible problem ever to be faced."
"And this horrible problem is what we're dealing with now! I cannot believe this! Why does it always have to be hard! Not once can I remember vanquishing a demon being easy, which is stupid because we're the Charmed Ones for God sakes! I mean, yeah, of course there have been those tiny, insignificant lower level demons ever once and a while who think for some reason that they have a chance against us, but normally, it is the demons who have a chance against us. I'm tired of it!" A sudden explosion from inside caused Piper to speak how she did and when she stopped, she realized just how out of control her emotions were getting. Maybe it was because Chris was being threatened with something Piper was becoming more and more afraid of. Or maybe there was just something wrong with her. Was she losing it??? It is possible that after all these years of fighting, she could be losing her mind. With all those blows to the head, why not??
"Whoa, sweetie…..calm down. Come here." Patty guided her into the main part of their bedroom and sat her down on the bed. Leo stood in the doorway so he could see both his wife and baby at the same time. Making sure both of them were okay.
"I know, I'm sorry." She shook her head and stared at the floor. "You were saying…." She said to Leo.
"The Symphony of Pain is not something to be handled lightly. He's an upper level demon who kills and tortures innocents. He feeds off of others pain. Chris is not the one in danger here, although he's being used as part of the plan." Leo motioned for Patty to go watch his son. She gladly got up and walked back into the nursery, leaving the two of them alone.
Leo took a seat next to Piper on the bed.
"I hate to have to worry you and put this stress onto, and believe me, it's killing me to even have to think this, but….." Leo paused.
"But what?" Piper looked up at him.
"But the demon hit you with that fireball." Leo shook his head. "Once he gets his energy renewed, he'll come after you…."
"Why??" Piper still wasn't understanding.
"This demon mostly goes after innocents and non magical beings, yes, but he also goes after the magical ones as well. He knew who Chris and You were. He knew exactly where he was just like all the other demons. Chris was his battery charger and you were meant to be his next victim. And now you are," Leo glanced at her side. "Or will be anyways…."
Piper was freaking out. "What? That's it. One lousy fire ball to the side and I'm forever in pain until I pass out and die??? There's no chance for me?"
Leo stood up immediately. "Come on. Go call your sisters, now. Tell Phoebe it's a life or death matter, and get them bother up into the attic. I'll worry about the rest."
Piper obeyed and left the room. Then Leo went to his mother-in-law. "Did you hear that??"
She nodded silently. Leo could see the pain in her eyes. "I'll go get the book and make the potion. You'll write down the spell." She suggested and they both orbed out of the room. A few minutes later, Patty orbed back in, grabbed Chris's crib and orbed it into the kitchen as well.
"Paige?" Piper peaked around her younger sisters door. There was no answer.
Piper walked into the room and over to the bed. She smiled when she saw Paige face smashed into her pillow. "Paige. Come on, wake up sweetie." Piper said, while gently shaking her.
Paige stirred and opened her eyes. It took a few moments for her to understand what was happening. "Piper?" She said in a groggy voice. "What are you doing??"
"We have an emergency, and I need you and Phoebe to come help. It's life or death." Piper said truthfully, knowing it was her life that was on the line.
"Well it better be." Paige grumbled. "'Cause I didn't go to bed expecting to wake up before the sun was even up….Not with the sleep I've been getting lately."
Piper grabbed Paige's hand and pulled her up out of the bed. Paige had her black, curly hair pulled into a ponytail and she was sporting a black tank top with some pink pajama pants.
Piper pulled her out of the bedroom before she could even look into the mirror, so she still had the look of a person who has just woken up.
"I'm sorry, honey, but once we vanquish this demon, you can go back to sleep. I promise."
"Fine…." Paige said, still being pulled by Piper. They were heading down the stairs when Piper suddenly came to a stop.
"Oh yeah!" She remembered. "You can orb!"
"Yep, sure can."
"Phoebe's apartment! Pronto!!"
Without saying a word, Paige orbed into Phoebe's apartment. But not the main area or the kitchen, or the bathroom. She orbed into Phoebe's bedroom where Cole and her were sleeping side by side.
"Awww….." Piper said as she saw Cole's arm wrapped securely around Phoebe. Just like Leo did to her.
"Awww???" Paige asked in amazement. "Ewww!!"
"You wouldn't understand." Piper said to her.
"You, know, your right. I wouldn't understand anything at 2 something in the morning!!"
"Shhh!! We're trying to wake Phoebe, not Cole!" Piper said in a loud whisper.
"I see sibling rivalry last throughout all ages…" A voice said to them. It wasn't Phoebe.
"Sorry Cole, but we have to get Phoebe and quickly. We wouldn't have orbed in like this unless it was something really important and it is something really important." Piper explained.
Cole yawned and sat up in bed. "It's okay." He turned to Phoebe. "Hey, honey, get up." He shook her a little until she stirred.
"Cole?" She asked, without opening her eyes. She turned over on her side. "What's going on?? What do want??"
"Your sisters are here, they need you."
Immediately, Phoebe popped up in bed and looked
to Piper and Paige. "Sorry, Phoebes, but it's really life or
death here. We need to vanquish this demon and do it quick. Now come
on." Piper held out her hand.
Phoebe moaned and got out of bed. She looked completely exhausted, but she grabbed Piper's hand and waved goodbye to Cole.
"Wait! Do you need help??" Cole asked before Paige orbed. "With potion making or something?"
"No," Piper said. "We're good, but we'll come get you if we do." And with that said, Paige orbed them back to the manor. To be more specific, she orbed them to the kitchen where she had sensed Leo and Patty.
Patty smiled at a tired Phoebe. "Hey, honey, sorry to wake you." She said.
"Yeah, yeah. Let's just get this over with. I've got to go to work early tomorrow, and I can't be sleeping while Elise is yelling at me. I just don't think that will go over well with her."
Piper laughed. "Nothing goes over well with her."
"True." Phoebe agreed. "Now, what demon are we facing?"
"A very powerful one, which is why we needed you guys here now. Piper was hit with his powers and once he recuperates, he's going to come after her and maybe even you guys too. Patty's almost done making the potion, and I'm still working on the spell." Leo explained.
"Okay, what have you got down?" Phoebe took a seat at the table and looked over Leo's vanquishing spell.
Maker of Torture Symphony of painWith our powers
Yours we drain
Undo the torture
Undo the pain
Now you may know
The hurting you contain…
Phoebe read to herself and nodded her head in approval. "This is good. Really good. You don't need to add anymore."
Leo smiled, rather proud of himself. The last time he was required to make a spell, he did very poorly, and he wasn't even in a rush like he was now. "Thanks." He handed her the sheet of paper.
Phoebe took it and walked back over to her sisters. Piper was leaning against the counter waiting, and Paige was leaning against the counter sleeping. Phoebe never understood how her younger sister could sleep standing up, but again and again Paige had proved it to be possible. Especially during a demon vanquishing. If Paige was ever really tired, she would find a way to get to sleep.
"Paaaaiiiiigggeeee." Phoebe sing-songed. Paige opened her eyes. "If I can't sleep, neither can you."
"Fine." Paige crossed her arms.
"I'm done!" Patty exclaimed. She handed each of the sisters a vial that contained the potion in it. "You know the routine, say the spell and throw the potions. It's that simple." She looked to Leo. "How are we getting the demon to come?? We can't lure him, he has to come by himself."
"Yeah, your right. We have to wait." Leo told them and then secretly scolded himself. He hadn't thought of that part of the plan. They needed to vanquish the demon as soon as possible or Piper would…..
"Ahhh!!" Piper screamed and grabbed her stomach.
"What?? What's wrong?? Piper what's the matter??!!??" Phoebe was the first to get to her older sister and was starting to panic when Piper didn't answer her. She just stood there, bending over and grabbing her side. She could see Piper's eyes squeeze close and her face turn a bright red.
Patty ran to her daughter, also worrying. She knew this could happen, but she had forgotten about it. She thought they'd get the demon and that they wouldn't have to deal with it. She thought wrong, though.
Patty put a hand on her daughters back and orbed her to the living room couch. Phoebe, who had, had her hand on Piper as well, was orbed into the living room too.
"Mom? What do we do? How can we stop this?" Piper was curled up on her side and moaning in pain. A few tears had come down her face.
Patty didn't answer Phoebe and simply looked to Leo. Leo knew exactly what she meant and he orbed to the elders for some help. They had to know something, seeing as they had dealt with the demon before.
When he left, Patty leaned sat down on the edge of the couch and caressed the side of Piper's face. "Sweetie, can you say something? If the demon comes, you have to be able to recite the spell."
"I…Ow!" Piper clenched her fist and buried her face into the couch cushion. The pain was too unbearable to get out what she wanted to say. "Mom, make it stop, someone do something! Just make it stop!" She cried. "Please…!!" She screamed. More and more tears came out. And not just out of Piper's eyes, but also out of the eyes that had to watch her.
Paige, who had been in the kitchen the whole time, reading in the BOS and learning more about the demon they were up against, came into the living room. Once she saw Piper, she had to look away. No body could do anything for her. It was like being paralyzed and watching someone get murdered.
"We've gotta help her! I can't see her like this!" Phoebe ran to the kitchen and searched the book. She flipped madly through the pages, crying as she did so. Paige went after her, trying to explain that this was how the demon killed his innocents and that nothing but the Power of Three could stop it, but Phoebe wasn't listening to her.
"Mom! Please make it stop!" Piper kept moving. Side to side, on her back to on her stomach. He hands always grabbing her stomach, and he mind always wishing away the horrible pain that she had to endure. For the first time in her life, she REALLY, TRULY wished that she was dead. And not because she wasn't happy with her life, but because the pain was too much! And as much as she was in this pain, she couldn't stand to think that it could happen to one of her sisters. She would never wish what she was going through on anyone. Including or worst enemies and anyone evil person out there. NO ONE deserved to go through it. "Help! Please help! Stop! Stop! Please! Stop!!" Piper was screaming in a raspy voice and crying at the same time. It was a horrible sight.
Patty, who was watching had all this anger building up inside of her. How could anyone be THIS evil????
She had to do something now. This was ridiculous. Piper had to be put out of her misery. So Patty did the only thing she could do. She grabbed a vase off the dining room table and smashed it over her daughters head, knocking her unconscious. She turned her face away and bit her lip as she did so. Never has she thought that one day she would be the one knocking her daughter out.
Anyone in their right mind would have done what she did. Either that or killed her, but Patty would never kill her child unless she knew that there was no chance of her ever getting better. At least now, the screaming had stopped and Piper's face looked calmer.
Phoebe and Paige came running in the room at the sound of glass breaking and at the sound of the silence that had suddenly appeared when just seconds before there had been loud cries coming from the now eldest Halliwell sister. "What happened? She not dead, is she??' Phoebe panicked and ran to her sister, checking her pulse and examining her.
"I knocked her out." Patty admitted. "There was no way I was going to let her go through that. Her being unconscious is the only way we can keep her alive. If she stays awake and goes through that much pain, she'll either try and kill herself or the pain will kill her. And yeah, it sounds silly, but you can actually die from pain. Our bodies can't take it when it's ongoing and so bad we can't bear it."
"So she's okay as long as she's unconscious?" Paige asked innocently, while fresh tears in her eyes threatened to fall.
Patty put a hand on her back. "Yes, but only for now. I mean, she won't be unconscious forever. She'll have to wake up."
"What if the demon comes?" Phoebe was seated on her floor, next to the couch, watching Piper closely. Her face had somewhat of a cold look to it. Almost as if she was emotionless, but she wasn't because there were tears in her eyes as well.
"I don't know." Patty sighed.
"We need Piper to recite the spell." Paige said.
"I know, but we I don't want her to be awake. And even if she was and the demon was here, do you really think she'd be able to throw the potion and recite the spell with you guys. Either way, there's a problem. We have to see what Leo find out."
"He won't find anything. The damn elders are useless and so are our powers!" Phoebe got up and stormed out of the room. She had to get out of there, but she knew she couldn't leave, so she went to her old bedroom.
Paige started to go after her, but was stopped by her mother. "She needs to be alone right now."
"But, Patty, she needs comfort. She feels useless."
"Paige, to you my name is mom." Patty said to her, but it wasn't in a mean way. It was in a loving way.
"I know, it's just…." She sighed. "I don't know."
"It's just what?"
Paige wanted to get what she had to say out, but didn't think it was the right time for it. "We can talk later, right now we have to deal with Piper and the demon." Then Paige remembered. "And Chris! Where is he??!!??" As if on cue, Chris orbed into Paige's arms. Paige smiled, and took a seat on one of the chairs.
Patty smiled too and watched how her youngest daughter handled the baby without any problems. It came to her naturally. Oh how Patty wished she could have seen Paige as a little girl. What a bright little girl she must have been, she thought.
"Mom?" A voice sounded behind Patty. An all too familiar voice, but she hadn't heard it in the longest time. A price she had paid for coming back to the world as a whitelighter.
When she turned around to see where the voice had come from, she saw her eldest daughter and Leo orbing into the living room. Patty's grin widened and she ran over to give Prue a hug. "Oh, honey, I've missed you so much!!!"
"I've missed you too mom." She felt so good in her mother's arms.
"Leo? What's going on??" A tired, depressed, and stressed Paige asked as she looked up from the baby in her arms to across the room at Leo and the new guest.
Yeah, she knew who the guest was, but she didn't actually 'know' her. Prue was someone she had never met, yet someone whom she could relate so much too and someone she had heard a lot about.
"Aww…Paige…." Prue said, pulling back from her mother's embrace and holding her arms out. She walked over to Paige.
Paige stood up and gave her sister a half hug, since she was still holding Chris. There was a familiar smell and feeling when she touched and got up close to Prue. It was hard to describe, but she knew that it was definitely her sister.
"I've wanted for so long to see you." Prue admitted.
"You have??" Paige was amazed. And she had felt the same feelings towards Prue as well. For years, even before she had met Phoebe and Piper, she had known about the Halliwells, and had always wanted to get to know Prue.
"Yes, of course I have. I've watched you for so long and I've always wanted to get to know you, to hug you, to talk to you…." Prue smiled. "You are a good person and a great sister, Paige. I just wish that I could have known you when earlier on."
"I wanted to meet you too." Paige admitted. She was still in awe that the person she felt that she had been compared to all these years was standing in front of her saying that she wished they could have met. To Paige, those words from Prue meant more than anyone could ever know. And now, she felt even more like she belonged in this family. Prue accepted her. Prue liked her.
"Ugh…guys, sorry, but I'm gonna have to break up the family reunion. We have to talk." Leo interrupted. "Where's Phoebe?"
"Upstairs." Patty answered. "She was too upset over Piper."
As that was mentioned, Leo looked to the couch to see his wife. So did Prue. "Oh my god!!" Prue said, and went over to the couch. "I thought she'd be awake." She took a seat on the edge of the couch and caressed the side of Piper's face. This was it for her. As she sat there, watching her sister, tears flooded her eyes. And not even a second later, those same tears ran down her face. Piper, her baby sister, her best friend in the whole world, was right in front of her. Oh how she had missed her. Piper was always on her mind, constantly.
"I know, but I couldn't let her suffer like that. It was too much." Leo nodded at Patty's words, understanding what had happened. And he too, walked over to Piper. Wanting so much to hold her in his arms again. But they had to fix her first.
"Prue?" Prue looked to Leo. "Can you go get Phoebe down here. I want to explain to everyone what the plan is. If we want to get Piper back, we're going to need to work together and work fast."
Prue nodded and left the room, leaving Paige, Patty, and Leo in silence.
A knock was heard on her bedroom door. Phoebe didn't answer or even move for that matter. She figured it would be her mother or Paige, and she just wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone but Piper. That however, was not possible at the moment.
The door to her room opened. She heard it squeak, and then she heard footsteps coming towards her bed. Again, she didn't do or say anything. She just lay on her side, and hugged the pillow she was holding tightly in her arms.
"Hey, sweetie." A voice said. Not just any voice, but a voice that she had wanted to hear again for years.
Without hesitating, Phoebe bolted up in her bed and turned around. The biggest smile was plastered on her face, along with fresh tears as well.
Prue smiled too and gave her little sister a hug. "I've missed you more than you'll ever know."
Phoebe said nothing. She just held her sister close. And after a few minutes, Prue pulled away. "Leo's here, honey, and we're going to try and save Piper. We need you to do that."
"Why are you here??" Phoebe asked, as Prue grabbed her hand and started to pull her out of the room.
"You'll see when we get downstairs." Prue wrapped her left arm around Phoebe's shoulders.
When they got downstairs, a family member was missing, Phoebe noticed. "Where's Chris??"
"At magic school. He's protected and someone's watching him, so don't worry." Paige informed her.
Phoebe nodded and then she and Prue took a seat on the living room couch next to Paige.
"Okay, so, here's the deal. Prue is here to help us vanquish the demon. The Elders said that we should do anything it takes to vanquish the demon, so they have given us the power of three again." Leo explained.
"Wait, so that's it?" Phoebe looked from Leo to Prue. "Your still dead. That's considered cheating. We can't use the dead to fight our enemies. It's like saying the source can come back to life and help the demon we're fighting now destroy us."
Leo nodded. "Yes, which is why the Elders have made a very big decision. One that will greatly affect you and your whole lifestyle.""What?" Phoebe was actually liking the words coming out of his mouth.
"Umm, Prue? Do you want to explain??" Leo asked her.
Prue looked at both of her sisters. "Okay, well…I'm your new whitelighter, that is, if you want me to be. Techinically, right now, I'm not dead."
"What??" Phoebe's eyes lit up, missing that little bit of information in-between 'I'm your new whitelighter' and 'I'm not dead'. "That's great. Oh my God!" Phoebe hugged her older sister once again. Prue hugged her back, but she was not smiling.
"What's the matter?" Paige asked, noticing the expression Prue held.
"There is a consequence to this." Leo said. "The Elders aren't just going to give Prue back. Something has to be taken away."
Patty, who had been sitting with Piper knew where this was headed. "I think what they mean is, in order to have Prue stay permanently, I'll have to go."
Phoebe let go of Prue and looked up at Leo to see if that was accurate. When he let her know with his eyes that it was, she stood up abruptly. "No! That's bullcrap!! The elders have never once really helped us before, nor have they ever been useful! After all the horrible things that happened in our lives they just can't do this?? It's not fair! There is no way in hell I am choosing!!! It's just wrong!! Bringing mom back and then bringing Prue back and then telling us we have to decide on what we want more. No! I wont do that!!! I'm not losing mom! Not again! And I can't lose Prue either!!" Phoebe started to cry, and Prue did her best to comfort her.
"I know it's hard, but you're going to have to choose. But they've given us time. After you guys vanquish the demon, you can decide what's permanent and what's not." Leo told them, sadly.
"Phoebe, honey, think about what would be best for all of you." Patty told her daughter, although the words she was saying were stinging her heart as well. She didn't want to leave. She loved her daughters and her family. She loved being alive. She wanted to be a grandma and see her other daughters get married. She wanted to be able to hug her daughters and be there for them when they needed her. No, she didn't want to leave, but if it meant that her youngest daughters could have Prue back, it was worth it. In the end, they'd be getting more.
"No! Mom, you can't say that. I need you as much as I need Prue." Phoebe cried. She broke out of Prue's embrace and ran a hand through her hair. Paige, who was still sitting down, taking it all in, stood up and rubbed Phoebe's back. "I really need Piper right now. I can't lose her too." She breathed in deep. "Let's vanquish this demon and get it all over with now before Piper wake up again."
"But Leo, yeah, we have Prue now, but how are we supposed to get the demon here and kill him. Phoebe's right, we need to get this over with before Piper wakes up screaming in pain." Paige said.
"Paige, was there a summoning spell in the book?" Patty asked.
"No, I didn't see one. You want me to look again?" She offered. Patty shook her head.
"That's alright. Whenever my mom needed to get a demon here she'd either use bait, which is not an option for us, or she'd write a summoning spell. Phoebe, your always good at spells. We're gonna need you to write one, and fast." Patty glanced down at Piper, who's chest was still slowly moving up and down. But who knew for how long….She could wake up any minute, and then pain would…No, Patty thought, don't think like that….
"Okay, I'll be in the kitchen." Phoebe exited the room, which fell silent after she did so.
Paige moved to sit back down on the couch again, and she accidentally knocked over a picture frame that was sitting on the coffee table. "Damn it." She said as she heard it crash to the floor, and the little pieces of glass shattered everywhere. She looked down at the mess. "Piper's gonna kill me." She said aloud. Then silently she thought to herself…. 'that is, if she makes it out of this alive'. There was always that little doubt playing in her mind.
Prue gave her a smile. "It's okay. I'll have a talk with her. This hasn't been the greatest day for any of us. She'll understand."
Prue saying that gave Paige some more hope that this was just another regular demon like all the ones they faced earlier. And it was, but never before had Piper been in so much danger, and no body even saw it coming. "Yeah, she'll understand…for about a day, and then she'll start yellin at me and saying how I make messes everywhere I go." Paige couldn't help but laugh as she said that. So did everyone else. "Was she always this bossy??" Paige looked to Prue.
"Piper?!? Of course! I mean, I was very high in the ranking of bossiest, but Piper was a close second. Well, when she was around me anyways…." Prue laughed. "Before you get to know her, she's the most nicest and sweetest person in the world, but after, you can forget that part of her ever existed. But, I love her anyways, and she does have a very gentle heart. And believe it or not, some of the things that she's done that have ticked you off, were only because she cared about you."
Paige nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I guess I don't realize that sometimes…." Paige pondered.
"I'm done!" They heard a yell from the kitchen. Phoebe appeared back in the living room. "Just to let you guys know, this isn't the best…"
"Hmm….some things never change." Prue teased her.
"Hey! I'd like to see you write one!" Phoebe defended herself.
Prue put her hands up in defeat. "Okay, okay, you got me there. Now what have you got??"
"Okay, come here." She motioned her two conscious sisters to come look at it and say it with her. Phoebe looked around the room. "Where's the vanquishing spell. We're going to need to be very prepared after we say this, or the demon will not be the one that's vanquished today…" Phoebe told them.
"Spell!" Paige shouted and it appeared in her hand. "Definitely a handy power. We have any grown up drinks in the house??" She smiled over at Phoebe, who hit her on the arm. "Sorry. Focusing now." Paige apologized.
"Everyone got there potions??" Phoebe asked.
"I don't." Prue said. "Where'd Piper put hers at??"
"Potion!" Paige yelled and only a few seconds later, the potion orbed into her hand. She passed it to Prue.
"Very handy." Prue agreed.
"Alright! Now are we ready??" Phoebe asked. When they all nodded, she motioned Leo and Patty to step back. She unfolded the paper in front of her and let both Prue and Paige see, and then they began to chant….
"Through time and spaceThrough wind and rain
Bring us the demon
Symphony of Pain
Through time and space
Through wind and Rain
Bring us the demon
Symphony of pain."
A whirl of wind began to form in front of them.
"Through time and space…"They began again. This time, with stronger voices.
"Through wind and rain…"The whirl of wind started to shape form.
"Bring us the demon
Symphony of Pain." They finished, finally.
The demon appeared before them, angrier than ever. "Ahhh! Damn witches! Damn it!!" He yelled at them, and tried to shimmer away, but felt a another force take over him. The witches were chanting another spell, and had already throw potions at his feet. Steam was rising and before long, he felt his body burn with agony. He screamed and screamed as the sisters chanted.
"…Undo the pain
Now you may know the hurting you contain…." They finished the next spell, and watched him as he kneeled over in pain.
All eyes were on him, but he couldn't do anything about it. Not only was he feeling the fire of a thousand fires, but he was also feeling the pain and torture he had done to so many innocents throughout the years. He couldn't even yell anymore, it was too overwhelming. Demons don't usually cry, but he had enough tears streaming down his face to create a large puddle of salty water on the ground. But before this puddle could formed, the demon was burnt alive, in the fetal position, wishing he had never put himself up against the Charmed Ones in the first place.
"That was easy." Paige commented.
"Yeah, that was. We could have done that a long time ago." Phoebe said.
"We didn't have all the information. That's what makes being witches a hard job." Prue explained. "Don't go over what you could have done, just think about what you did, and how many lives you saved." Prue turned around to look at Piper. So did everyone else. Now, all eyes were on her.
"Why isn't she waking up?" Paige asked.
"She's still alive. Maybe I hit her a little too hard on the head." Patty flet an enormous amount of guilt placed upon her.
"Don't feel bad, mom, it's okay. Remember, you're a whitelighter." Prue reminded Patty.
Patty's eyes lit up with happiness as she now had all the guilt sucked away from her. The only reason she had hit Piper was because she knew that it would stop the pain and that she could heal her when everything was over. She forgot about her powers after all the excitement. With Piper's head in her lap, she placed both her hands over the wound, which was just a little bruise. They started to glow, and not long after that did Piper start to stir. She took in a deep breath and opened her very groggy and red eyes.
"Ugh…." Was all she could get out, and that's when she noticed she wasn't alone. She moved her eyes and looked all around her. Why was everyone staring at her? Why was Prue smiling at her? Wait, Prue? Is that Prue standing next to her??? She thought.