CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

GATHERING INFORMATION

Prue stormed towards the Elder's council ready to go to war with them. She just had to get back to earth, back to her three younger sisters. They needed her. Needed her now more than they ever had before. She would just tell them that she would be going down to be with her sisters no matter what they freaking decided. They could send her down to hell; and she would still find a way to get back to her sisters.

"Get out of the way Leo." Prue said as she tried to use her powers on Leo; but no luck. Dam she hated the fact that she was dead. She was quite powerless up here. "I am going home to my sisters, where I belong." Prue placed her hands on Leo's shoulders and tried to shove him away from the huge oak doors. But Leo wouldn't budge.

"You know your place is up here, Prue, with your mother and Grams. The girls are fine." Leo frowned darkly. "Well most of the time they are fine. As you very well with all the watching you do."

"Oh than Mr. Elder who should be a white lighter and still be with his family, tell me why Paige is going through a mental breakdown than? Also how is it that Cole is going to come back with Benjamin and Phoebe has to vanquish her own son?" Prue stormed.

"Life happens, Prue. The Elders don't control basic life choices. We can just try to protect the good witches, and try to keep magic from getting out among the mortals." Leo tried to explain. "Sides I have to get into see the Elders to find out how Cole can come back after the girls finally vanquished him the last time. I need to know how Cole Turner found a way out of limbo." He shook his head. "Getting out of limbo is quite impossible."

"I'm going to my sisters, Leo. They can send me to hell and I'll find my way back to my sisters. They need me." Prue said trying to dodge Leo; but damn it Leo was being a stupid stubborn mule. Prue was going have to get extremely physical with him if he didn't get out of her way and soon.

"They don't need you any more." Leo softly said. "Piper and Phoebe have Paige now. Paige is the strongest link for the Power of Three. She always had been. You were only meant to help Piper and Phoebe get stronger in their own powers and their destiny. You have fulfilled your destiny, Prue." Leo said sternly. He had wanted to break it to Prue gently but he very well knew how stubborn Prue Halliwell was and blurting out the truth was the only way to get it through Prue's head.

Prue lost all control than and she swung and ducked Leo in the jaw. She didn't even brother to wait for Leo to move forward once more; she just moved towards Leo and rained punch after punch. First his stomach, than his chest, than several quick jabs in the face. She was working off all the pent up rage she had felt since she learned that she was dead and that there was no way she could be saved and be with her sisters. She worked off the rage of watching her little sisters mourn for her and finally find Paige; she worked off her rage of herself not being able to meet her baby ½ sister; whom she had always wanted to meet since her mother was pregnant when she was seven. She worked off the rage of watching as Piper wouldn't accept Paige, and practically try to kill Paige when she was a fury. She worked off her rage at learning that Paige was going through a mental breakdown and she; herself; can't be there to comfort and help her baby ½ sister through her dark time. She worked off the rage of learning that Cole was coming back with Phoebe's son and Phoebe has to vanquish her very own son face to face.

Leo just took the beating. He winced when every punch meet it's mark. He knew that Prue didn't mean to hurt him; she was just finally working off all her pent up rage. He waited for Prue to finally stop; and when she finally slowed down after twenty minutes of some serious ass kicking; Leo managed to wrap his arms around his former sister – in – law's waist and pulled her into a tight hug.

Prue breathed deeply as she fought to catch her breath. She was seriously winded. If she wasn't all ready dead; than she knew that surely she would have dropped dead. She closed her eyes as she let herself get back to normal. She finally pulled away from Leo. "Thanks Leo." She looked at how badly bruised up Leo Wyatt was. "I'm so sorry."

"This. Forget about it." Leo said with a slight shake of his head. He looked over Prue's shoulder and saw a very concerned Andy standing there. "Look, why don't you go and join Andy." He nodded towards the Elder's door. "I need to get into the council and find out about when to expect Cole and Ben."

Prue sighed deeply and nodded. She lifted herself slightly and kissed Leo on the check before turning and joining an upset Andy on the other side of the room.

Leo turned and walked to the door and jerked it open and he stormed into the council allowing the door to slam shut behind him.

EXPLAINING SOMEWHAT

"So what exactly did I do when Cole and Ben was vanquished?" Sam turned his eyes on Chris. "The truth young man."

Chris sighed. "I you didn't do anything; Mr. Crowen. You were just in the attic trying to get through to A …." Chris coughed trying to cover his almost mistake. "Paige . Cole shimmered in as Belthazor with Benjamin in his arms." He sighed.

"What else aren't you telling us Christopher?" Piper said in a hard voice. She knew that the young white lighter from the future was hiding even more details from them.

"I'm sorry but I can't tell you any more." Chris said with a deep scowl on his face. "I wasn't there. I just heard the stories." He shook his head. "All I can truly say is that you sisters vanquish Cole and Benjamin and Phoebe was heart broken over it. It took years for Phoebe to forgive herself for vanquishing her very own son." He swallowed as he fought the tears that wanted to overcome. He had to be strong here; he couldn't break down otherwise he would reveal that he was Piper's son. He couldn't allow that truth to come out; not until Piper and Leo slept together and he could be conceived. God was it just the day before that he and Aunt Phoebe were in her office at Bay Mirror talking about how to get Piper and Leo to get together. Shit a lot has happened since than.

"Who are you truly Chris? How close are you to my family in the future?" Piper asked. "I want the truth this time. No more stubbornness."

"You have known me, my entire life." Chris finally softly said. "I'm a very close friend of the Halliwell family. You have trusted me fully. You are the one who taught me how to mix positions correctly; Paige also of course. Phoebe had trained me in the fine art of spell writing." He grinned as he thought of some of his early childhood spells that he had written. Boy were his mom and aunts shocked at some of the things that had happened in the early years because of him.

"I knew it. I just knew that you were special to me." Piper tilted her head. "Why didn't you just tell us the truth when you first arrived, Chris? Why all the secretly?"

Before Chris could speak once more, Phoebe came walking into the room.

"You told her?" Phoebe asked eyes wide opened in surprise.

"I told Piper what a close friend I am to the Halliwell family in my time." Chris quickly said.

"Oh." Pink lit Phoebe's checks as she realized what she had almost blurted out. She nodded. She walked over and sat down on the couch.

"How are you holding up, honey?" Piper moved over on the couch so she could wrap her arm tightly around Phoebe and she pulled her little sister against her for much needed comfort.

"Ok." Phoebe tried to be up beat.

"Paige orbed down here and told me that you were sobbing in your room." Piper said.

Phoebe pulled slightly away from Piper in surprise. She looked happy and relieved. "Paige is Paige again?" Than her face darken again. "That means Paige is going to leave the manor and us now."

Piper shook her head. "Wyatt hasn't shaped changed Paige back yet. Paige told me with her eyes that you were sobbing in your room. She demanded to know what had happened. I had to tell her."

Phoebe sighed. "So that's why I heard the pounding on Paige's wall on my way out. I was going to knock and see if everything was ok; but I didn't want Paige to think I was trying to invade her personal space again."

"Should I try to talk to Paige?" Sam spoke up. "I have always told Paige that she could always come to me; when she first started to work at South Bay Social Services."

Phoebe blinked as she looked over to where Sam was sitting. "I'm so sorry, Sam, I didn't mean to be so rude to you. I just didn't see you when I came in."

"It's quite all right Phoebe." Sam said with a kind nod. "I fully understand that you have a lot going on right now."

"Leave Paige alone. She'll come and be with us when she is ready." Piper shook her head. "Right now Paige feels like we are invading her personal space and running her life. She's threatening to move out of the manor and …. Leave the Halliwell family." Her voice broke as she thought back to the previous day when Paige had called her and screamed at her for Phoebe and her calling Sam and getting Sam to find a temp. job for Paige to do.

"I'm sorry. If I was better at hiding the truth from my face, than Paige wouldn't have been clued into your part in my calling her back to social services." Sam shook his head.

"It's not your fault, Sam." Phoebe said. "Paige would have figured it out on her own. Sides she would have continued to bully you until you told."

"Was this the final breaking point for Paige?" Piper turned to look at Chris once more.

"Yes." Chris simply said.

COUNCIL OF ELDERS

"What is the meaning of this Leo?" Gideon demanded as the door to the council slammed shut and a very ticked off Leo Wyatt was marching towards the center of the room. "Because you are an Elder now; it doesn't give you the right to enter the council in this fashion."

"This is an emergency Gideon." Leo spat out as he stopped in the middle of the room. "Cole Turner will be shimmering into the Halliwell manor any day now; brining his and Phoebe's two and ½ year old son, Benjamin. The sisters will have to vanquish Cole once more and Phoebe will have to vanquish her very own son."

"What!" Several Elders cried out in shock.

"How do you know this, Leo?" Gideon asked in a steady voice. He also was very shocked at the news; but he knew the Charmed Ones could handle it. He felt bad for Phoebe Halliwell; but the greater good had to be protected. Benjamin Turner was too have been the next Source of all evil; so hence he had to be vanquished. It was that plain and simple.

"Phoebe had a premonition.Chris had confirmed it." Leo said with a deep frown. He breathed deeply in his chest. "How could you not have known about this ahead of time? This is a very major moment in the Charmed Ones lives. You guys always had known in the past when something major was about to happen; so I could try to get down there and warn them and help them to understand the lesson they had to learn. Why not now?"

"I'm sorry Leo." Percy said as he frowned and shook his head. "This is more than even we can handle."

"That's all you have for me? That's what I have to go back with to my family. That even the Elders can't help them." Leo wanted to shout in anger. But he fought to keep his calm. "What about Paige's mental breakdown?"

"What breakdown?" Percy asked in confusion.

"Chris has confirmed along with the news about Cole, that Paige suffered a mental breakdown at this time over her break up with Richard." Leo said with a shake of his head. He didn't want to tell the Elders that Chris had also told them that Wyatt would be the new Source of all evil in the future. The sisters were trying to find the demon who was after Wyatt on their own.

OUT IN THE COURT YARD

"Why did you beat Leo almost death, Prue?" Andy asked as he leaned against the pillar and he looked Prue fully in the eyes. "I know how stupid that sentence is …. Leo is all ready dead. But it's the point that matters."

"I finally released all the pent up rage I had held inside since my death." Prue confessed. "Leo understood and he forgives me."

"Ok." Andy nodded his head. He sighed deeply. "Why were you storming to the Elders council?"

"I was going to demand them to send me back to my sisters." Prue said. She didn't feel as angry as she did before she beat the crap out of Leo. "I miss them. I need to be with them." She brought her right hand to touch Andy's check. "Even through it meant leaving you."

"I would have understood." Andy said softly with a slight smile. He knew that Prue wasn't going anywhere. She couldn't. It was time to see her sisters yet. He saw that she finally saw and understood this.

END CHAPTER SEVENTEEN