Lara

Up There

Sandra was talking to Roland when she felt a pain in her heart.

"Are you okay?" Roland asked in concern.

Sandra shook her head. "No, I felt it."

Roland frowned. "What did you feel? Sandra, you're scaring me..."

"Someone stole a soul..." the female Elder quietly explained.

"A soul? I didn't feel anything," Roland said.

"Kheel," Sandra let out in a whisper. Her eyes turned white and she had a glimpse of what happened in the Gold Gate Bridge.

Roland cleared his throat. "What happened to Kheel? Sandra..."

"She's back," the female Elder let out in a whisper.


Halliwell Manor

Kitchen

"Hi," Paige said, as she orbed in.

Piper looked at her and smiled. "Hi, stranger..."

Paige rolled her eyes. "You know I have a baby and don't have too much time right now."

"I know, I know," Piper sighed. "But I need you, Phoebe needs you."

"How's she?" her sister asked in concern.

Piper shook her head. "She spent her days locked in her old room and go out only to go to the cemetery. Paige, I'm worried about our sister. I don't know what to do, I don't know how to help her..."

Paige cleared her throat. "She's sad... It's understandable; she lost her husband. I can't even imagine what she's going through right now."

Piper lowered her head. "She has lost so much through the years... Prue, Cole, her first baby... She deserves to be happy. It's not fair."

"No, it's not," Paige sucked in a deep, hard breath. "It's really not."

"Paige," they heard Phoebe's soft voice at the door.

"Sweetie," Paige let out a slight smile. "Are you okay? I'm worried about you."

Phoebe shrugged. "I miss him," she quietly admitted. "It's just... I lost my husband, my best friend, the man I thought I would share my life with. I don't know what do..."

As Phoebe stopped talking, an Elder orbed in.

It was Sandra.

Piper rolled her eyes. "What do you want?" she asked almost harshly. An Elder appearing in her house in the middle of the day wasn't a good sign and she wasn't on the mood for a demon hunting right now.

Sandra sighed. "We need your help," she declared.

So original.

"What happened?" Paige asked.

"A soul of an Elder was captured," Sandra replied.

"A soul's thief? How he got an Elder?" Piper frowned.

Sandra shook her head. "Not 'he', It was her," she quietly correctly the witch.

Piper nodded. "O-kay... So... She stole this Elder's soul..."

"Kheel... It was him who disappeared," Sandra told her.

Paige sighed. "Who's this demon who stole his soul?"

"She's not a demon," Sandra informed her. "She's an Elder, or, at least, she was one of us."

"An Elder?" Phoebe asked in confusion.

Sandra nodded. "Lara... I had a vision, I saw her stealing Kheel's soul. The powers corrupted her..."

"What powers?" Piper asked frowning.

Sandra sighed. "A long time ago, Nyx, the night, attacked the Earth, trying to turn this world in a darkness place. She killed people and trapped their souls in crystals. She liked to see the way the souls shone inside her magical crystals. Alice Warren helped us and created a potion and a spell to strip Nyx of her powers."

"Alice Warren?" Piper asked in surprise.

Sandra nodded her head a little. "Your family is a great force of good, Piper. Anyway, Nyx's powers couldn't be locked in a magical box or something. We needed someone strong enough to seal them. Lara was the most powerful Elder, she had a good and pure heart. She was the only one who could trap the powers inside her body."

Paige and Piper exchanged glances. They quickly understood that this story didn't end well.

"When she trapped Nix's powers and sealed it within herself, a bright shine enveloped her body and she disappeared before our eyes," Sandra stopped for a moment, her voice almost cracking. "We thought she was dead and her soul gone, destroyed with the power... But she didn't die. She survived and she's back."

"You had said that she trapped Nyx's powers inside her own body to save the world. Why would she steal an Elder's soul?" Paige asked frowning. "This doesn't make any sense."

"I think Nyx's powers were too strong for her," Sandra said. "The powers corrupted her and she's not the same kind and sweet Lara anymore."

Piper nodded. "I understand..."

"We need your help. She already stole an Elder's soul and..."

"No!" Phoebe practically shouted, shaking her head.

"Phoebe," Paige muttered.

"No! I'm tired, Paige. I'm tired of finding and losing love. I'm tired of losing everything because of magic. I'm tired!" Phoebe shouted, then turned to the Elder. "I won't help you, I won't fight anymore. I can't risk my baby's safety. Lara is an Elder! She's your problem, not ours!"

Sandra sighed. "I know you're suffering, but..."

"You know nothing," Phoebe said wincing. "I lost my sister, who was killed by Shax... Cole, who I vanquished to save the world, a damn Seer stole a baby from me... And now, I lost Coop. Everything because of magic, because of this damn fight against evil! But enough is enough!" she said angrily, storming out of the kitchen.

"Phoebe," Piper threw her arms in frustration and followed her.

"Your sister needs to understand the gravity of this situation," Sandra remarked, looking at Paige.

"She lost her husband," Paige said softly. "I'll talk to her, but you need to understand her as well. It's hard for her, she's not ready to fight again."

Sandra sighed heavily. "I fear that it's not a matter of choice, sweetie," she said and orbed away.


Phoebe's old room

"No!" Phoebe shook her head, as she saw Piper. "Don't try to convince me! I won't fight anymore."

"I know you're angry, sweetie. But it's our fight," Piper argued.

"I'm not angry," Phoebe said, touching her sister's hand. "I just ! I can't... I can't fight anymore. I have no strength, I..." she was saying, when she felt the familiar sensation of being pulled into a premonition.

"You have a beautiful soul, little one," a woman in a golden armor said, staring at little Chris.

"No!" Piper cried, as the woman threw a golden ball at her son.

"Phoebe," Piper gently touched her arm. "What'd you see?"

"Chris..." Phoebe whispered.


A/N: Thank you for the reviews. I hope you'll enjoy this story.