Disclaimer: The Charmed Characters are the property of Aaron Spelling and Constance Burge. I just borrow them for your enjoyment and my writing addiction

Gift Not Returned

September 9, 2004

Paige paced as Chris just watched her but inside he was worried.

"Where are they?" Paige finally gets out as she looks over at Chris. But there was something on his face. "Chris what is it?"

"Just a fleeting memory of a story I heard." He couldn't get the feeling from his mind but he was too late, everything was now unstoppable.

Paige looked at her nephew again, wishing she had her older sisters' power of empathy. She was brought from her thought as Leo orbed in the attic.

"Where have you been? And where is Phoebe?" Paige went straight for the kill.

"What do you mean where is Phoebe? She isn't here?"

"Leo do you see her standing here with us? If she was here I wouldn't ask you where she was."

"Oh this is bad." Leo spoke but not to any person in the room.

Paige started to feel the panic inside. She was all that was left to hold this together. Piper was at magic school, how was she suppose to tell her they had lost Phoebe? "Leo what's going on?" she demanded an answer.

Leo held her gaze as he then turned to his son. "I have no idea what went wrong. It was simple, we kill Clea to get her powers and Phoebe takes them to get rid of Corr. I don't understand, she was supposed to wait here for me so we could reverse the magic of the astheme."

Paige looked at Leo, "Well something went wrong, because she came in here, vanquished Corr then turned to the camera and shimmered out."

Leo started to think and pace. The more she killed the more the power of evil would consume her. "We have to find her Paige. She is more susceptible too evil then any of you. Her birth in the Manor, her marriage to Cole. If we don't find her soon: it may be too late."

His words sliced through everything Chris had strived to prevent. He knew that now saving his brother was the least of his worries. For if he didn't save Phoebe first, then they were all doomed to live the life he knew only as pain.

Standing in the carnage of what used to be the demon world pub, Phoebe stood and stared around her. She felt something in side her flutter. Something she hadn't felt for a long time. "Cole" she said to no one quietly. Her one thought turning to the one man she would forever love. Feeling that same evil dwelling inside her she knew there was no turning back. "I will take what we had and make it better then we could have ever dreamed. Leading the underworld to a final battle for victory." She smiled as she tossed a fireball at the one last demon that was trying scurrying away from the bar, trying to get out alive.

Paige, Leo and Chris made their way through the halls of Magic school. Neither of them wanted to say anything as they each thought of what they needed to do next.

Chris looked at his mother as they made their way into the large chamber Gideon held his books. He saw in her all the love that he missed out on, all the love he needed. But now he had to fix this. He had to get Phoebe back or everything he had fought so hard for was for nothing.

Paige met Pipers eyes and tried to hide everything.

"Hey guys. Well, how did it go?"

"Um it went good. We took care of those two demons just as planned." Paige spoke as she eased herself next to Piper on the couch.

Piper looked at each one before getting a real feeling of what was happening. "Ok then and where is Phoebe? Why isn't she here with us to celebrate the threat to Wyatt now being extinguished?"

The three sat a moment to long.

"Spill. What is going on?" Piper felt herself getting scared,. She couldn't lose another sister again. She had barely made it through losing Prue.

Paige took Pipers hands in her and proceeded to tell her what happened.

---

"Excuse me? She did WHAT?" Piper started to stand but felt a pain in her side. "Damn it Chris!"

"Sorry." he looked at his Mother as he knew he was causing her pain.

"Look Piper, we can still save her. We just need to find her and get the evil powers out of her." Leo suggested, trying anything to keep Piper calm.

"Leo you had better. You let her do this. I will never forgive you if we can't get her back." she glared at him. "I will not lose another sister to evil."

She made her way out the door and followed the shimmer inside her. But she almost knew where it would take her. To the same place she knew only a few years before.

They sat around the table as they often did planning strategies to rid the world of innocents and witches.

"Hello boys." Phoebe shimmered in behind them as they quickly stood up. They all knew who she was, and who she used to be. "Oh relax. I'm not going to vanquish you. I just wanted to let you all know... I was back." She moved with ease around the room she had once considered home.

"Back?" one stood and stepped a pace closer. "Back as in how? To betray us again like you did the Source?"

She turned away from him and cast a glance out the windows. Taking in the city lights from the penthouse she once loved and shared with her love.

They all watched and waited for answer. Until the one that spoke formed an energy ball.

"Once a witch always a…..." before he even got a chance to finish his sentence the flames consumed him.

Phoebe looked at the faces around her. Some she recognized from her reign as Queen. "I have returned as your Queen. To reclaim the Throne that is rightfully mine." She stepped forward and sat down at the head of the table. "Let's just say I've had a slight change of heart. Consuming the powers of evil has just made me see what I was missing and what I gave up in vanquishing Cole with my sisters. But no more. I can see more now what Cole wanted for this world. And I will take us all there. To the greatness we shared when Cole was still alive."

They weren't sure what to believe. But as some sat down with caution others remained standing.

"Some of us recall your reign, and what in the end it cost us."

"Old memories."

"Some of betrayal." He held her gaze a moment longer. "Prove it. Prove you have come back as you say you have." He held the challenge in her eyes. "All we have seen so far is you killing demons. And news of what you have done is spreading quickly."

Phoebe looked through him and up at the other demons who were now moving towards to stand in behind him.

Phoebe never said anything. She knew it was their call.

"Kill your nephew Wyatt, and the throne is yours with no fight." He spoke without so much as a blink, as he watched her a moment before she disappeared, leaving them all wondering what her next move would be.