Chapter 9- Before the Afterlife

During her state of unconsciousness, the witch possessing the Power of One drifted from the world. She felt herself rise and hover into the air. Her physical wounds no longer existed and she looked down to find herself in a long white dress that would've dragged behind her had she been walking. She took in the scene and saw what seemed like paradise; beautiful and strong trees, not one leaf on the ground, long green grass and the purest of waters flowing through a stream under a white bridge. This place was easy to desire, but the circumstances weren't good. This was limbo and those who entered limbo were preparing to move on into the afterlife.

Melinda felt herself glide through the place and she felt herself falling. The feeling was intense as it felt like she was falling through the cracks of the world and into an unknown abyss, but her feet were simply just reaching out to the ground. The feelings in limbo were different, intensified as one would put. As Melinda's bare feet touched the ground, she enjoyed the brush of the grass against her bare feet and was soothed by it.

She started to move around, the dress dragging behind her and began to figure out where she was. Her eyes began to water as she thought about death. She had never expected to be there so soon and the Angel of Death hadn't even accompanied her. It didn't make sense and her life ended so prematurely. She never said goodbye to her mother and brothers, never patched things up with Wyatt and never avenged her father's death, which became her life mission. All was loss now and all that was expected of her now was to reflect on her past. She refused though. She was just as stubborn in the Great Divide as she was in the real world.

"I can't do this," Melinda murmured. "I can't be dead." She was in full denial.

"You're not," a voice spoke out to her.

She was now frozen in place. The voice immobilized her and she heard gentle steps approach her. The person made his way around to her view and Melinda spotted her father. Leo had a white button shirt with blue jeans and he smiled at Melinda. "How are you?"

Melinda's watered eyes were now full blown tears now. Her tears slid down her cheeks and she threw her arms around her father. She squeezed him and then stepped back and eyed him. "I can't believe it, Dad."

"Believe it." Leo stated. "I'm real, Melinda."

"Does this mean I'm actually dead?" Melinda whimpered.

"No, but I'm here to make it easier for you. To help you reflect," Leo answered.

"I thought every witch had to go through limbo alone. That's what you had always taught me at least," Melinda replied.

"Yes, but it's not always true with the Halliwell line. Your aunt Prue, she had some assistance with her mother," Leo commented.

Melinda remembered Prue, but she only remembered her as a ghost alone. Years back, Piper, Phoebe and Paige were finally able to summon her and the family had formal introductions to the deceased Charmed One. Since then, Prue was only summoned for special occasions such as Wiccanings. The sisters never abused summoning her for social calls at the risk of never being able to summon her again.

"I hate to put you down, but I have a lesson to teach you here. Your death is counting as a punishment and it tears me inside to tell you that, being your father. Your attack on Wyatt had a consequence and…"

"I'm so sorry I did that, Dad," Melinda interrupted. "I just wanted to put peace to your death and make sure that Verok didn't just roam about. It looks like I failed because I was too cocky of a witch."

"That's the thing. You thought that just because you were a witch that you could do anything. Your mother and her sisters say it all the time because their grandmother said it to them. The only difference is that they relied on each other and you turned down their help. If you hadn't attacked Wyatt, your connection would've been strong and he would've been able to sense your pain and heal you."

"Now what?" Melinda said as she looked down on the floor, unable to eye her father.

"You hope for a miracle," Leo said with a smile.

"Hope for a miracle? I'm dead! What goals am I shooting for? Should I aim for a bed with three clouds instead of two? I think you should get use to the fact that we're going to be doing some eternal hanging out," Melinda said.

"We will eternally hang out," Leo joked. "Just not now. Be happy that you didn't attack both of your brothers. Good luck," he wished as his body faded away.

"Dad!" she shouted. Her body began to rise again and was rapidly pulled backwards.

(X)

Melinda choked repeatedly and felt a strong gasp of air shoot into her. She opened her eyes to see her brother kneeling over her, his palms open with a gold light emanating and had a smile on his face. "It worked," he said with cheer.

He stopped healing her as he saw her kneel up. She still had bruises and cuts around her body, but he managed to save her from death. He grabbed her and hugged her. "I'm so glad you're okay."

Melinda hugged him back. "Thanks, Chris. You won't believe what just happened."

"I healed you, that's what happened," Chris told her. "Wait, what do you mean?"

Chris let go of her and she looked around. "Where's Wyatt, Chris? Is he even here?" Melinda asked.

"Yeah, he showed up. He said it was real faint to sense you, but I sensed a strong pull. He stayed back and was tending to some witches, orbing them to wherever they asked. I didn't expect to find you here though," Chris said. "In that state you were in."

"I don't have time to explain everything now. We have to hurry and get to the Underworld before Broncian is killed," Melinda said as she stood up.

Chris crouched up, puzzled. "We're stopping a demon from being killed?"

"I'll explain later. Come on," Melinda said, grabbing his wrist and dragging him out the building.

A/Note: So yeah, it was kinda Harry Potter. I won't go into specifics for those who haven't read Deathly Hallows, but still. I love the way it turned out and I hope you do too. For those who were hating Melinda for being a bitch...times change.