Disclaimer: Quotes are taken from the season four episode, Charmed Again, and borrowed for this chapter. There is no infringement intended.
Chapter 12: Rescue 911
"Piper!
She was already half-way up the first flight of stairs when she heard the urgent call of her name. After stopping, she did turn back around but said nothing.
Emeritus stepped closer to the staircase. Leo, Dimitri, and the last remaining Elder followed from the living room.
"Be angry if you must," came the steadfast reply of Emeritus. "But I strongly warn you against going after your sisters. If they are trapped in the Underworld, you are the last remaining link that the Triad needs."
Piper shook her head, glaring at the Elder below her. Despite the fact that he had indeed saved her life that fateful day, she held much contempt for him. These people were unbelievable, she thought. Did they honestly just expect her to sit back and do absolutely nothing while Billie and her sisters remained sitting ducks in the Underworld? Sorry, but it wasn't going to happen. Ultimate Power or not!
The Elders were also the last ones on earth to be giving any advice after some of the stunts they had pulled over the years. Stunts to save their own behinds, and this latest revelation with Prue was just the one to top the cake.
"I'm done listening to anything you have to say," she replied in a solemn but firm voice. "Now, I'm going to turn around, go upstairs to the attic, and find some way to bring my sisters and Billie back home. Because that's what family does. They look out for each other. They don't run away when things get tough and considering all the work they've put into serving your damn cause, I think you owe them that much. So consider this one on me."
Piper turned on her heels and made her way back up the stairs. Leo turned to address the men standing behind him.
"I think you better leave," came his own solemn reply. He was about to make his way upstairs to check on Piper but was stopped by Dimitri.
"Leo, wait!" came his urgent request.
Leo turned back around slowly as he made direct eye contact with the new Elder. Dimitri noticed that he made it a point to avoid it with the other two men beside him. Cautiously, he stepped forward before addressing him.
"Look, you have every right to be upset and I wasn't around when all this took place. But I beg you to ask your wife to reconsider. Because if evil gets their hands on the Ultimate Power, everyone suffers. Not just Elders, but everyone. Mortals, witches, other magical beings, the list goes on," Dimitri argued.
"And Billie and the two sisters are not the only ones who are missing," Emeritus revealed. "So is Prue."
"What?" inquired Leo.
"We binded Prue's powers but she does have limited access to them in the event of a demonic attack," the Elder explained further.
"Okay," Leo acknowledged. "And?" he waved an impatient hand towards the Elder. He wanted him to move this explanation along.
"So," Emeritus sighed, "we still have the ability to sense and track her when necessary. Over the past years, everything has remained quiet. Until very recently. We've detected a use of magic. However, we are now unable to track her location," he explained.
"Which makes it very likely that the Underworld has her too," finished Dimitri. "It's way too dangerous for Piper to risk getting caught as well!"
"So you lost her?" Leo threw a smug look in the direction of Emeritus.
Emeritus glared back.
Leo sighed, absorbing all the new information the Elders shared with him. In truth, he really had nothing against Dimitri in all of this because he hadn't been involved in the first place.
"Well, be that as it may, we can't just leave them down there," Leo finally concluded. "Without Phoebe and Paige, there's no Power of Three!"
Leo turned to leave. He looked back one final time, glancing at the two senior Elders. Then he addressed Dimitri. "I hope you know what you're getting yourself into!" he declared.
After Leo's departure, the three Elders orbed out of the manor.
X
Andy sat back against his seat.
In truth, he was feeling the strain of the past couple days. After closing his eyes, he rubbed against his temple, engaging in some deep contemplative thought. His brain felt like it was on information overload and he had no idea how to process it all in such a short span of time.
In the seat beside him, sat Captain Morris. Or, as Morris had informed him earlier, his former partner from his days as an inspector in San Francisco. According to Darryl, he had died in the line of duty seven years ago. Apparently, he had died trying to protect his "wife" and some unknown sisters of hers.
The next part of the story went beyond strange. Morris shared the unbelievable news that his wife was a witch, but not just any witch. A witch with magical powers and that she and these sisters had used them to fight evil on a daily basis. Sisters who they were on their way to confront right now. What would they even think?
Andy would have shrugged all of this off as the crazed ramblings of a lunatic had he not seen what he did when his wife was taken the other day. But mysterious men in dark robes with occult symbolism as decor, throwing fire and energy from their hands, was not a part of the everyday job description for a cop. Therefore, he was open to any explanation.
When Darryl had provided him with background information regarding these other lives, it only served to add to the weirdness of the entire situation. He was provided with pictures, copies of birth records, records of death, motor vehicle registration and obituaries.
At first, Andy tried to rationalize. It had to merely be a freaky coincidence that this other man, Inspector Andrew Trudeau, looked so much like him. However, he was forced to reconsider that option when he saw all the background information gathered on a Prue Halliwell. Maybe one of them could be a coincidence but both? Not likely.
When Andy saw Prue's photo plastered on her motor vehicle license from five years past, there was no doubt in his mind that he was looking at his wife. This Andy and Prue were both from San Francisco, both of them were presumed dead, and they had both known each other during their life time. Now both he and his wife just so happen to be their identical matches?
Andy was pulled from his thoughts very suddenly when a flight attendant's voice rang out over the intercom.
"Attention all passengers. We will be landing at LAX in approxiatemately fifteen minutes. The Pilot has asked that all passengers return to their seats and fasten their seatbelts. Thank you for your cooperation and we look forward to having you fly with us again," came the woman's voice.
Andy sighed and looked over at Darryl, who was just coming out from his own nap. He yawned and stretched his legs before addressing Andy.
"Well, here goes nothing. Are you ready?" asked Darryl.
Andy just smirked and shook his head. "Is there such a thing as being ready for something like this?" he asked rhetorically, while looking back at Darryl.
Darryl stayed silent before responding. "Look, man," he sighed, "I know this must be weird. But if it's going to help get Prue back, I mean your wife back, it's worth a shot right? Hey! This might even open up a lead to your missing daughter."
Darryl tried to be sensitive about this. However, in the back of his mind, he was practically convinced that there was somehow a connection between Prue's old life and why their daughter had gone missing during this new one.
Andy turned back to look out the small window. He shook his head.
"We don't know for sure that Molly's disappearance had anything to do with this. It's been over a year and nothing even remotely weird has happened until now," he argued.
"There still might be some connection," Darryl looked over at his former partner.
"Children can disappear for other reasons." Andy muttered.
"True enough," Darryl acknowledged, "but there's always that chance," he tried to sound as reassuring as the situation allowed for. "And granted, the sisters are going to be overwhelmed with all of this at first but they will come around. Trust me, they'll know what to do."
Andy gave a weak smile.
Both men prepared for the landing that was now in progress. Next destination?
San Francisco, California. The Halliwell Manor.
X
Phoebe sat with her head resting back against the chamber wall. Her eyes were closed but she felt the beginning stages of a migraine starting to take effect. "Piper, where are you?" she muttered.
"I'd kill for some of Piper's freshly squeezed juice right about now," Billie mumbled, resting her head on the ground. She swallowed because her throat was feeling dry. "A pillow wouldn't hurt either," she made a face.
"I actually second that," Paige added. "I don't know how demons manage to get any sleep down here," she joked.
"By knocking each other out with energy balls?" Billie reciprocated.
Paige smirked.
"Well, then can somebody please do me a favor and knock me out with one?" Prue interjected from across the chamber. She covered her face with her hands, leaning against a wall. "Because maybe when I wake up this will all have been one huge nightmare!"
Paige thought about Prue's words and then made a face. "Wouldn't that just make us figments of your imagination then?"
Prue began pacing all over again.
Phoebe was losing patience. She had been watching the restless behavior of her resurrected sister for a very long time and it was really starting to unnerve her. Now she could hear it instead. "Hey, Prue?" she called out. "You think you can stop pacing over there? I may not be able to see you at the moment but I think you're giving me whip lash!"
"It's Marie!" Prue corrected her. She crossed her arms. "And the rest of you may not mind sitting on your butts doing nothing to get us out of here, but I do!"
Phoebe opened her eyes and sat upright. "Okay, MARIE," she over-enunciated. "What exactly would you like us to do? The door is bolted shut from the outside and we have no powers in here. I'd say our options are pretty cut and dry at the moment!"
"So your answer is to, what?" Prue challenged back. "Wait around and just hope or pray that somebody named Pepper decides to play superhero of the day?" she countered.
"Excuse me but it's Piper!" Phoebe retorted with some serious snark.
"Who cares. My point still stands!" Prue threw up her hands.
Paige jumped up. "Ladies, ladies," she laughed, running interference. "Look," she threw her head back before glancing between Phoebe and Prue. "I think we're all feeling on edge right now but snapping at each other isn't going to get us out of here any sooner."
Billie was busy using her finger to draw a picture on the dirt floor. She wanted to stay out of it.
"So," Paige took a deep breath, "why don't we all just try to relax for a bit," Paige looked directly at Prue, "and then think of something more constructive to do, instead of just moping around, to try and get us out of here," she turned to look at Phoebe.
"Paige?" Phoebe tried to cut her sister off. She was not in the mood.
"Good?" Paige talked over her sister's attempt to cut her off, nodding at Phoebe.
Phoebe just looked at her, then at Prue.
"Good, right?" Paige then turned and nodded at Prue.
Prue looked at her almost defiantly, then she glanced at Phoebe.
"Good!" Paige declared making it final for the both of them. "Phew," she sat back down.
Paige just wanted a compromise reached before an unnecessary argument erupted. They had been in here way too long and she could feel the tension in the air too. Everyone was on edge and some of them were just choosing to deal with it differently than others.
Prue still stood with her arms crossed, still glaring at Paige. Finally, she relented. With a deep sigh of resignation, she joined the others. Phoebe looked to Prue as she sat down.
"Sorry," Phoebe apologized to Prue. "I've just got this monstrous headache coming on from this whole nightmare and unless it starts raining Advil in here soon, I think my brain is going to implode!" she rubbed the sides of her temple.
"Oh, please. Not on me!" Billie joked.
Phoebe laughed. "I'm not making any promises," she offered back.
A sullen silence surrounded the women until Paige decided to speak up and ask a few questions to help the time pass. Actually that, and to learn something about the oldest sister she had never gotten the chance to know. She looked to Prue and considered the best way to open up a conversation because up until now she hadn't said very much to her.
"So, um, Marie," Paige opened up. "How long have you been here anyway?"
It was a fair question. Both of the sisters were anxious to know.
"Well, um, not that long. The last thing I remember was being lured to this abandoned building. There were these two men. Or at least that's what I thought they were at the time," she explained, shaking her head and thinking about it.
"Wait!" interrupted Phoebe. "Are you telling us that you've just been brought here recently?" she asked for clarification purposes.
Phoebe was baffled by such a revelation that Prue hadn't spent her whole time away from them inside the Underworld. How could demons have kept Prue a secret in the mortal world, she wondered. And what about her memory loss?
"Yeah. Why?" Prue asked, feeling confused as to why Phoebe would have assumed differently.
"This doesn't make any sense," Phoebe whispered, gazing towards the ground.
"Have you all been here long?" Prue turned the question back.
"Nope, we just got here too," Paige answered in place of Phoebe. "Unfortunately, it's not our first magical rodeo, though. Here in the Underworld that is," she clarified after catching Prue's expression.
"But it is the longest," Phoebe reflected.
"The Underworld?" Prue repeated with an amused expression, glancing around. "That's what this Grand Canyon knock off is supposed to be called?"
"Well, can't say I've ever been to the Grand Canyon. But being stuck in here certainly beats being entombed," Paige joked, trying to think of a bright side.
"Or mummified," Phoebe sighed, thinking back to when her body was used to revive Isis. Cole had stepped in and taken advantage of the situation.
"Back to these two men you were talking about. Did you get a good look or maybe recognize who they were?" Paige asked, hoping for a description.
Prue shook her head. "I didn't know them. It was weird, though, because one of them looked exactly like somebody I did just meet. Only it wasn't really him. And then the other one wore some dark garb, a robe maybe, with some kind of occult symbol on the front," she volunteered.
"A Triad," Billie concluded.
"And the shape-shifter," added Phoebe.
So the Triad and the shape-shifting demons were somehow connected to Prue and her mysterious resurrection? Not good. What were they hoping to accomplish with this? Besides the obvious, which was to kill them. There had to be more to it. Otherwise, why would they go out of their way to spring a trap like this?
"Triad?" Prue looked at all the women.
Somewhere in the deep recesses of Prue's mind that name sounded vaguely familiar to her. However, as hard as she tried, she couldn't pull the memory out.
"Yeah! Really really bad guys," explained Billie. "Very high up on the demon food chain!"
Prue listened. "Right."
Suddenly, the sound of the door unbolting had all four of them instantly on their feet as they turned to face the impending intruder.
X
After Leo made his way to the second floor, he made a quick inspection of the master bedroom only to find Piper not there. As he passed by Wyatt and Chris's room, he decided to check on them before heading to the attic next.
When he peeked inside, he could make out the sleeping forms of three children. Everything appeared normal. He closed the door and then made his way up the attic stairs. He opened the door to discover his wife kneeling down, hunched over, and she was lighting candles which all formed a circle. The Book of Shadows lay at her side and because Piper was so engrossed in what she was doing, she didn't even hear her husband walk up behind her.
"Honey, what are you doing?" he asked gently, making his way over to sit beside her.
"What needs to be done," she replied firmly. "I'm summoning mom. I want to know why she and Grams thought it was okay to lie to us about Prue. It's not right!"
As she declared this, she thought back to the day of Prue's funeral when she had tried to summon her sister but had summoned Grams in her place. All of the calls to summon her lost sister had been in vain. They hadn't worked because she was never dead to begin with.
(Flashback 2001 - Attic)
It's the day of Prue's funeral and Piper enters the attic. She proceeds to position candles on the attic floor.
"I am a witch, damn it! I've summoned people before and I'm going to summon Prue whether you like it or not," Piper declared to the heavens as she approached the podium, holding the Book of Shadows.
"No more playing games, no more being the good witch, I want to talk to my sister, I need to talk to my sister. At the very least you owe me that!" she spat out. Then she proceeded with the summoning spell.
"Hear these words, hear my cry, Spirit from the Other Side; Come to me, I summon thee; Cross now the Great Divide."
Piper waited until a swirl of white orbs appeared in the center of the attic. She had been anticipating Prue; however, she got her Grams instead.
"Grams?" Piper pleaded, feeling disappointed.
"Hello my darling," came her Grams' reply. "How are you?" she asked.
"How am I?" Piper asked rhetorically. "Are you kidding? Do you guys not get the news up there?"
Penny Halliwell sighed. "I'm sorry! What I meant was, how are you holding up?"
Piper shook her head in response. "Not very well," she replied. "I'm a little, lost! And why didn't you come before when I called after - " but she didn't get the chance to finish because her Grams cut her off.
"I couldn't Piper, I was - busy," Penny stammered.
"You were busy?" a confused Piper asked.
"I was with Prue," Penny Halliwell drew out.
"Oh!" declared Piper looking around. "Well, of course. Right. That would make sense." Then she sighed before asking, "Is she okay?"
Penny Halliwell hesitated before answering her granddaughter's question. "Your mother and I are helping her through this," she replied.
"But, how is she?" Piper pushed.
"I'm not allowed to tell you now, just like you're not allowed to see her, at least not for awhile, anyway," concluded Grams.
Piper looked around, a feeling of utter bewilderment gracing her features. "Why?" she interrogated.
"Because seeing Prue right now, speaking to her, keeps her alive for you," Penny tried to reason. "Which keeps you from being able to move on with your life, to continue your destiny!"
Piper huffed. "What destiny? Okay, it's over, it's done. Prue is gone and I - " she trailed off as Penny attempted to sympathize with her granddaughter.
"I know sweetie, I know," she replied. "But if there's one thing you've learned over the last three years it's that there's always a reason for everything. Which means, there's a reason for this too."
Then she paused as Piper remained quiet. "Your destiny still awaits. Blessed be," was her final response as she orbed back into the afterlife and Piper looked on.
(Flashback Ends)
Piper felt angry about the memory. Just more lies, she huffed.
She recited the same words from the Book that she had recited on that same day. Leo remained at her side, watching helplessly.
"Hear these words, Hear my cry; Spirit from the other side; Come to me, I summon thee; Cross now the Great Divide."
Piper and Leo both looked around but only felt a breezy draft. When nobody materialized before them, Piper recited the spell again. This time, she felt her anger creep through the words.
"Hear these words, Hear my cry; Spirit from the Other side; Come to me, I summon thee; cross now the Great Divide!" she shouted into the air.
Still nothing happened.
"Mom? Grams?" she cried out. "I know that you can hear me! So get your butts down here right now. I need to talk to you."
Still, Piper received no sign of an impending visitation. Leo tried to offer his own input, but went ignored.
"Piper, maybe they're not allowed to come right now," he tried reasoning with her.
"Mom, Grams? Do you hear me? You better, because Paige and Phoebe's lives depend on it!" she declared.
Leo sighed. All he was able to do at this point was sit back and wait. His wife was stubborn and he knew she wouldn't give up until she was ready to. But it needed to happen soon because they needed to work on a way to get Phoebe, Paige, and Billie back before it was too late.
"Is Prue still alive?" she choked out. "Where is she?"
No response.
"Did you know about this Ultimate Power? And if you did, why would you let them take Prue away? It doesn't make sense. So why?" she stressed.
When her questions still went ignored, she erupted.
"Answer me, dammit!" she shouted, picking up the Book of Shadows and flinging it across the attic floor. It impacted the floor with a loud thud. She brought her hands up to cover her face. She began to sob uncontrollably.
"Piper," Leo soothed, reaching out to embrace her in his arms.
Piper shoved him away. The sobbing automatically ceased. Her emotions were all over the place. While getting up off the floor, this burning anger began coarsing through her like never before.
"Orb me there!" she demanded of Leo. "Right now."
"What?" Leo asked confused.
"I said orb me there, to her!" the determination in her voice did not falter. "I want to see for myself."
Leo finally caught on to what it was she was asking of him and shook his head at her. He knew she was distraught, and with very good reason, but he still didn't think it was such a great idea.
"Piper, I don't think - " his disapproval was written across his face.
"Leo just do it!" she ordered, grabbing onto him and he knew Piper wasn't going to let this go.
Together they disappeared in the blue and white flurry of orbs.
X
The orbs rematerialized in the sheltered confines of an old but familiar place.
The Masoleum.
Piper stood there with haunted eyes and a solemn expression covering her face, as her line of sight landed on the inscription. Prudence Halliwell's name stood out on that marker, announcing the day she had entered this world followed by the date of her departure. The apparent departure from this world and from their lives.
Leo held to his stiff posture. He didn't know what to make out of this visit quite yet because his wife was unpredictable right now.
Piper, on the other hand, was busy reflecting back on the trip made here with Leo and Paige shortly after Prue's funeral five years ago. All of that grief and the anger over the loss of her big sister had consumed her, making her vulnerable to the furies. Piper had actually transformed into one herself, a fury, and the only way to free herself of the emotional torment had been to confront her feelings head on with Prue.
Suddenly, Piper became very angry. Her reaction was quick and unexpected as she lifted her hands and directed all her rage and power at that marker. It began to explode away in huge bits and pieces.
"Piper, what the hell are you doing?" Leo reacted in shock. "Stop it!"
A dust cloud had formed with the debris landing everywhere around them. A giant gaping hole revealed a coffin. This was supposed to be Prue's final resting place. Well, the physical part of her anyway.
Piper ignored Leo as she approached the opening.
"Help me," she instructed as she started to make room to pull out the coffin.
"Piper, we need to leave. Now. This isn't going to help," he sighed.
"Leo," she seethed, grinding her teeth. "You can either help me, or leave, but I'm not going anywhere until I get this damn thing opened," she raised her voice, using one foot to kick at the back of the coffin.
Leo knew she meant business. He sighed, feeling dismayed, and reluctantly tapped into his Elder power to lift and move the coffin out of its entombed space. Piper immediately moved to open it as Leo slowly made his way to her side.
Piper stared down.
Into nothing.
Where a body, or evidence of its remains, should have been visible to any observer, there was not. There was absolutely no remains of a body inside this coffin. It was empty; there was nothing inside except the few remnants of family photos and those small keepsakes they had laid to rest with their sister in honor of her memory.
Piper's emotions burst.
"I hate you! I hate you!" she began banging her hands against the coffin.
Leo tried to stop her. "Piper don't!" he grabbed for her hands.
"How could you do this?" she cried. "You were supposed to be here with us!"
Reality was now settling in; it was one thing to hear the truth and another thing to actually see it.
Leo felt torn.
"Piper, I need you to look at me!" he grabbed for her shoulders, forcing his distraught wife to face him.
Piper finally gave in. Her struggling ceased, she leaned into him, and continued to sob.
"It's all going to be okay," he tried to calm her. "I promise."
"But, Leo, she just left!" Piper vented. "She left me and Phoebe behind!"
"I know," he tried to soothe, rocking back and forth with Piper in his arms. "I'm sorry."
"How could she do this?" Piper shook her head. "It's wrong. I don't care if she thought she was saving us; she never stopped to think about how her decision was going to effect the rest of us," her voice sounded bitter. "How much it would hurt when she was gone from our lives? We didn't get a choice."
"It's okay," Leo soothed as he continued to rock back and forth with Piper.
"How could she?" she muttered.
"I don't know," Leo sighed, answering as honestly as he could. "All we can really do now is find her and ask."
Leo kissed the top of his wife's head. After a few more moments of accepting the comfort he offered to her, Piper pulled herself free from his embrace. She wiped under her eyes and took in some very deep breaths.
"Find her? Right," Piper mocked. "How do we do that exactly?" she looked into his eyes.
Leo shrugged.
"If anything, I think these past five years have shown just how much she doesn't want to be found," Piper concluded.
"Or she just couldn't be," Leo played advocate. "Especially without having her memories to remember anything."
"Leo, to me, it's the same thing," Piper got defensive. "Don't defend her!" She put her hands against her hips and then walked around her husband.
"I'm not defending her," denied Leo.
"Because allowing herself to have all of her memories wiped, having her entire life with us just erased," Piper argued heatedly, "is the same thing as not wanting to be found."
"Look, Piper, all I'm trying to say is that I'm sure Prue had her reasons," Leo tried getting her to be a little more open to the whole situation. "Even if we may not like what those reasons were."
"None of it matters anymore anyway," she brought her hand to her forehead, fighting off a migraine.
"Of course it matters," Leo sympathized. "I know it matters to you."
Piper just shook her head. "Yeah but apparently we didn't matter enough to her."
Leo didn't know what else to say.
"Lets just go," Piper sighed.
Leo shifted a bit uneasily. "Yeah, listen, before we go," he stalled, taking a look at the destruction and empty coffin.
"What?" Piper's brow furrowed.
"It's about Prue," he faced her again. "I think you should know that after you left, the Elders said that Prue's been missing. They can't track her anymore and they think she might be trapped somewhere in the Underworld."
The mention of the Underworld brought Piper's immediate focus back to Phoebe, Paige, Billie, and the urgency of that situation. She closed her eyes and internally cursed at herself for allowing herself to become so side-tracked like this.
"Damn it," she brought her hands to her face.
"What is it?" Leo wore a mask of concern.
"We need to get back to the manor," she announced. "I need to find the others."
Leo held onto to Piper and they orbed back home.
X
Piper and Leo found themselves back in the attic but soon realized they were not alone.
After orbing back, they were greeted by the sight of Molly, coming through the attic door, a small blanket in hand. She was wearing an extra pair of Wyatt's pajamas. As the little girl got closer, both Leo and Piper could tell she had been crying. Probably had a nightmare?
Piper took a deep breath to compose herself. She didn't want to make the child anymore upset than she already appeared to be. "Hey, sweetie, what's the matter?" she inquired softly. "You didn't have a bad dream, did you?"
The little girl stopped in front of Piper and nodded her head. "The mean man came back to get me!" she slurred through sobs.
Piper knelt down, pulling her into a hug so that she could try and calm the little girl down. "Aw, listen, it's okay," she tried soothing, standing back up with a tight grip on the little girl. "You're safe. We're here with you and nobody is taking you away," her voice was soft. "We won't let that happen, I promise."
"I want Phoebe."
"Yeah, I know, sweetie," Piper told her. "Me too," she rubbed her back.
Molly had spent almost a week at Phoebe's place adjusting. Therefore, Piper just assumed she was probably more comfortable there and felt scared being alone in the manor without Phoebe around. Piper could only imagine what horrors the poor child had to endure during her time spent in the Underworld, especially with the likes of the Triad.
Leo watched for a brief moment. "Do you want me to try and get her back to sleep so you so you can work on finding the others?" he whispered.
Piper nodded her head. "Yeah."
He reached out and Piper gently passed Molly over to Leo. Piper was already a mother, she loved her boys; however, she had to admit to herself that having a little girl in the house did feel different.
Molly rested her head against Leo's shoulder. Piper observed how exhausted she still looked and how she was on the verge of falling back asleep as her eyes drifted. They had managed to calm her down on their own which was a good thing. Leo made his way to exit the attic.
"Okay," Piper tried to relax. She knew she needed to calm down if only for her sisters sake and Billie's.
The Book of Shadows was still sprawled open on the floor. Piper approached and picked it up, bringing it back over to the podium. Then she gathered the items she needed to begin scrying again.
Please work, she begged.
X
In a quiet manner, Leo closed the bedroom door to Wyatt and Chris's room after he placed a sleeping Molly back in the small bed beside Wyatt. All of the children were sound asleep again. However, as he went to turn back around, he jumped backwards when the sight of blue and white orbs materialized before him.
"Dimitri!" he exclaimed, feeling completely startled. "What are you doing back here?" He tried to keep his voice to a low whisper. They were standing right outside the bedroom of the sleeping children.
Dimitri took a deep sigh. "I'm here to help, Leo!" he announced.
Leo started to shake his head. "Look, I appreciate it, I really do. But you can't. You should go before Piper sees you," he protested. "Or the other Elders find out!"
"Leo," argued Dimitri. "We weren't joking around when we said it was too dangerous for Piper to risk getting caught in the Underworld. Now, I understand that you need to find the others. But at least let me help. I have an idea."
Leo crossed his arms, sighing heavily, while taking in the new Elder before him. He was young and naive; he had alot to learn about what being an Elder really entailed. However, he couldn't help but to admire the young man's tenacity and his perseverance when trying to stand by doing the right thing. This would probably cost Dimitri down the road but who was he to argue at this point. If they could get everyone back safely and still prevent evil from getting its hands on this new power, he was open to any helpful suggestions.
"Okay, I'm listening," he relented. "What's your idea?"
X
All four women stood in a single row. The anticipation alone was threatening to kill them.
Some time had passed by since they heard the first sound of the door unlatching from the outside. They had reacted immediately and now stood on alert. However, the door never opened. Whoever was going to enter must have changed their mind. They continued to wait as the adrenaline coarsed through their veins; however, still nothing happened. They all quickly decided that being prepared for an eventual confrontation was much better then sitting around waiting for it to happen.
"Okay, I say if there's only one of them, the three of us jump him and bring him down while Paige heads for the exit," suggested Phoebe. "That way you can orb out of here!" she addressed Paige.
"Okay? And if there's more than one?" Paige asked shaking her head, not feeling very good with the idea that she would orb out of here, leaving the rest of them to fend for themselves. "Besides, even if there is only one, shouldn't I take at least one of you with me?" she suggested.
Prue spoke up.
"Then, take Billie with you?" she offered, nodding in Billie's direction. "Phoebe and I can handle taking one of them down, right Pheebs?"
She looked at Phoebe who, in return, released a small grin back in her direction at the mention of her nickname being used. Prue, realizing what she had just said, wondered where in the world it had come from.
Billie, in the meantime, was looking at Prue. While she felt grateful that she was looking out for her, she wanted to protest against it. After all, she figured it was best to get Prue out of her first, especially since they had no idea why the demons were using her. It would be safer that way until they could figure it out.
"No. No, I think you should go!" exclaimed Billie. "Phoebe and I can handle it!
Billie looked to Prue who looked like she was about to protest, so she jumped back in before Prue had the chance. "And look, before you argue with me, I just think it's safer if we get you out of here until we know what the Triad wants from you," she defended.
Phoebe had also been prepared to argue against Billie, being one of the people to stay behind, until she realized that her niece had brought up an excellent point. Therefore, she opted to agree with her instead. "Actually, I think Billie makes a good point. They obviously lured us here to be with you for a reason," replied Phoebe. "We should get you out of here."
Prue rolled her eyes and decided not to argue about it. She still felt a protective pull towards Billie and felt that the young girl should be allowed to go before she did. "Fine, whatever," she relented. "But if there's an opportunity where we can all get out of this together, we take it. Understood?"
"Okie dokie, that's settled then," Paige's voice rang. "Except for the fact we don't know for sure if there's only going to be one of them?" she pointed out again.
"If there's more than one, we just take our chances," supplied Prue.
Phoebe and Billie decided to agree but their planning session was short-lived. Several more minutes later, the door was now being swung open at full force. However, as they prepared to launch their attack, it was halted by the sight that greeted them. As the door opened, they made out a woman being thrown into the chamber to join them. Her mouth was gagged and her hands were tied behind her back while the woman responsible, stood at the door, smirking in their direction.
"Oh my god, Piper!" shouted Phoebe as she and Paige both ran to assist her.
Prue and Billie remained standing side by side. Prue didn't know how to react to what was happening but Billie stood frozen in place for a completely different reason. It was because she took notice of the woman who had thrown Piper to the ground so callously.
"Christy?" Billie called out. "Is that you? What are you doing?"
Prue decided to take advantage of the distraction. While the girl was focused on Billie's question and the other two sisters were tending to their newest arrival, she lept forward pushing this Christy person through the door and onto the ground, landing next to her in the process. What she witnessed next, shocked her. Before her eyes, the young woman that Billie had addressed as Christy moments before, now materialized into the form of a man.
"Hey, take it easy there! We're here to help!" cried Leo, recovering from the shock. However, as he turned to look at his assailant, he caught sight of Prue. It was a face he hadn't seen in over five years and he couldn't help but stare.
Prue stared back; no recognition registered on her end.
"Whoa!" he released as they both got off the ground.
Prue's reaction, for the gazillionth time, was to roll her eyes because she was prepared for what was coming next. So she decided to beat him to the punch line. "Um, let me guess?" she mocked. "I happen to look like someone you use to know? A Prue, right?" She released a half-smirk in his direction, shook her head, and then turned back around to face the door.
At the same time, Phoebe, Paige, and Billie made their way out of the chamber with the other woman in tow. She was no longer bound and gagged. But, unfortunately, all the commotion caught the attention of the demonic guards who were posted on duty very close by. They were making their way towards them.
"HEY!" one shouted.
"Uh, time's up! We need to get out of here right now!" declared Leo.
As Leo made his way to stand with the rest of them, Phoebe released a potion vial that Piper had handed to her inside of the chamber. It hit the guard square in the chest, vanquishing him, while Paige proceeded to accomplish the same feat with the other guard. Then Leo took a hold of Piper and Phoebe. Paige did the same with Prue and Billie and everyone orbed out from the Underworld back to the Manor.
To Be Continued - Okay, that's the end of this chapter. A Piper/Prue confrontation is on it's way and soon Prue/Andy will reunite with their daughter. Well, Molly at least. Billie's identity will be revealed to them eventually. So sit tight and I'll be back with the next chapter soon. Thanks for reading and don't forget to review. ;o)