Sincere apologies for the incredibly long delay...
PeterpanTinkerbell27, I'm sorry if I used movies/shows that you haven't seen... hope it wasn't too confusing? And yes, I'm the writer of this weird script... GOT A PROBLEM WITH THAT? lol
WelshCanuck, I loved Chick Flick too, definitely a funny and creative ep. And I love that scene where Paige dies in Scream, I'm always thinking she'll orb out or her sisters will come in to save her or something...
littlemissbad, thanks for all the positive comments... Don't worry, Prue won't be lonely forever... ^.^ Well, I didn't like Ch. 19 & 20, but I'm pretty satisfied with Ch. 21...
Christine Rudd, well after such a long time, I had time to write [vacation from school = (+)]... Glad you liked those chapters... they were hard to write, but I loved Chick Flick so much I had to give it a go.
CharmedNeptune47, I loved Spike. It was between him and Angel and I had to go with Spike... Angel's too *broody*
rose lily potter, thanks for commenting!
piperspeanut, thanks!! It was pretty difficult to get all these weird characters in two chapters, but I somehow did it... this chapter doesn't do much other than vanquish some demons...
jiejei1, I love Spike, I had to add him!! It's hard to find a Buffy/Charmed fan... I'm not sure if you're hoping Christy & Billie will wind up getting a happy ever after... hope you like this chapter. And hockey is going pretty well...
Naturally-Susan, WOW... the WHOLE thing? lol Glad you're enjoying the ride. Hockey and school are fine.
Angelic Ami, WHOA... you too? Cool... This chapter doesn't do much other than get some more demons out of the way for the big finish... I get another break from school in a month, so that should = more writing time!!
missypaige06, well, it's taken me longer to write them, so... lol No worries... Thanks for taking the time to review!!
"Scrying is a no-go," Paige fretted. "Which means either Christy's hiding her very well, or…" She let her voice trail off.
"…Or… We've already lost Billie to Christy," Piper finished.
"God, I hope not," Phoebe said.
Piper locked her eyes onto Phoebe's. "Phoebes, you realize this time that if we do lose her to Christy again…"
"What?" Phoebe demanded. "We'll have to kill her?"
"Well, yes," Piper said slowly. "We can't afford, especially now… We can't afford to be weak and—"
"I am not killing her, Piper," Phoebe stated firmly. "I won't."
"Phoebe," Prue said quietly, "we can't afford to get emotional about this…"
"I agree with Phoebe," Paige stated. "We can't just kill Billie. Not after all we've been through with her."
"Yeah, well, Prue and I have seniority over you two," Piper said.
Prue ignored her sister's statement. "If we get emotional instead of cutting our losses…"
"'Cutting our losses?' For Pete's sake, Prue, she's a friend, she's part of the family. I don't care if I'm getting emotional!"
"Emotions, in this case, make you weak," Prue said. "Our powers come from our emotion, but if we let them get in the way of our judgment…"
Cole spoke up. He and the rest of the men had remained out of this debate mostly for self-preservation. "If I may say something…"
"No," Piper said. "We're keeping you here just for help, and we all know who's side you're going to take."
"I agree with Prue," he stated.
"WHAT?" Phoebe yelled.
He shrugged. "Emotions cloud judgment. That's why evil tends to ignore the emotions, so there's nothing interfering with logic."
Prue looked surprised. "Thanks, Cole."
"I'm not finished," he replied. Prue gave a sigh. "Phoebe's not evil," he pointed out.
"But if it's clouding her judgment—"
"Would you let me speak?" Cole asked. "My opinion may not count too much, but it's still an opinion that should count for something." Prue waved her hand, signaling him to continue. "Thank you. Now, what's the difference between warriors and soldiers?"
"Okay, if you're gonna just give us riddles," Piper said, annoyed, "then your opinion's worth just decreased."
Cole went to make his point. "Warriors get emotional. You guys are warriors. You're not just any group of witches – what do you think makes you so special? Any other witch out there is just another soldier against evil, but you guys, you're warriors. You guys have emotions that tell you when to make a certain call, and when not to. Other witches don't have that. Other witches rely on logic, on rationalizing a response to a situation, but you guys react on instinct, on a gut feeling. That's what makes you guys the Charmed Ones, it's what makes you stand out. Warriors follow a gut feeling in battle. They don't stand there contemplating what to do next. Warriors are the soldiers that have the ability to doubt – to question – orders given to them. Other witches, they do what a Whitelighter or a Coven leader asks them to do, and don't think twice. But you guys, you question authority, you guys show that the wheels are turning up there. Soldiers are just robots following what they were programmed to do… but warriors have a heart and use that to lead them in time of crises."
Everyone was silent for a moment. "And what if their hearts lead them to their death?" Prue asked. "What then?"
"Then their heart was wrong," he conceded. "But how many times have you guys followed your hearts, and they led to something great? How many times have warriors followed their hearts and it's turned out wonderful?"
"And how many times have these warriors died because they were too busy listening to their hearts?"
"Isn't it worth the risk? Isn't it worth risking death to save someone else?"
Prue didn't answer.
"What happened to you guys?" Cole demanded. "The Charmed Ones I knew would give up anything to save an innocent. What changed?"
"Maybe we gave up one thing too many," Piper replied quietly, remembering how she had been forced by the Angel of Destiny to give up Leo to fight the Ultimate Power and the Triad. "We've lost so much and I'm not willing to risk much more."
"I'm not asking you to risk anything," Phoebe said. "I just want you to give Billie the benefit of the doubt. How do we know Christy isn't just really good at hiding her?"
"We don't," Piper agreed. "I'm willing to give her the benefit of the doubt – for now – but if we see we've lost her, then I'm gonna vanquish her as soon as possible. Maybe you want to be a warrior," she said to Phoebe, "but I've got two sons and a husband to think about."
"I know, sweetie, and I'm not asking you to put them in harm's way. Just don't give up on Billie yet, okay?"
"Fine," she said going over to hug her sister. Then she muttered, "But when we get her out of this, she owes me free babysitting for life."
Phoebe laughed.
"Christy, think about this," Billie said. "Do you really want me by your side because you turned me evil?"
"I'm not turning you evil," Christy shouted. "I'm bringing you to the side where you belong!"
Jeric stalked into the room. "You have your sister. Now revive my love."
Christy glared at him. "You're giving me commands? How dare you!"
"You promised."
"I will when my sister is by my side. Until then, you will wait patiently, or join your precious Isis."
"But—"
Christy cut him off. "I have no problems killing minions like you."
Jeric growled. "You need me."
"Do I?" She shot a fireball from her hand, and it hit Imara, who was standing nearby. That was the end of her. "Do I?"
Jeric gulped.
"That's right, and she didn't even piss me off. So if I were you, I would leave before I decide I don't need you anymore."
Jeric met her eyes slowly. "Then why do you need me? What's stopping you from killing me?"
"If you must know, I need someone that can hold Billie in an unconscious state without hurting her… in case this spell doesn't work." She waved him away. "Now leave."
Unhappy but unwilling to anger her further, Jeric left.
Billie shook the bars of the cage Christy had placed her in. "Christy, you're evil! The Charmed Ones are good, the Triad just made them look evil to you!"
Christy sighed with disgust. "How can you even think you're on the right side?"
"Christy, I'm begging you, don't make us have to vanquish you." Tears were in Billie's eyes as she realized there was no reasoning with her sister. "Please, I don't want to lose you."
Christy threw some ingredients in a large pot, and a large puff of smoke rose from the pot with a large "BOOM." She grinned. "Luckily, you won't have to." She turned her attention to the pot and drenched a piece of paper in it.
Curse those witches that had lied,
Bring my sister to my side
The smoke turned from white to a dark green and engulfed Billie.
Everyone was in the attic. Piper was still scrying, and Paige was focusing on trying to locate Billie.
Phoebe suddenly stood up and began to leave the attic.
"Where are you going?" Prue asked.
"I just had an idea," she said. "Cole, come with me?"
Cole got up and walked out with her. "What's on your mind?"
"I want to summon Jeric," Phoebe said.
"Are you crazy?"
"No, but he is." Cole started to say something, but Phoebe kept talking. "Look, you told me to follow my heart, and that's what I'm doing."
"That's when I thought your heart was sane and not suicidal," Cole said. "Phoebe, this guy is unstable. He's intent on freeing the one he loves, you know that just as well as I do."
"If I know Christy, she's not willing to let Jeric go until she's sure she has Billie on her side. She needs the safety net, because she knows there is no guarantee that she will get Billie on her side. That means we have until then – until Christy is content that Billie is on her side. If we grab Jeric and promise him that we can give him Isis back—"
"But we can't! We need the Power of Three, and your sisters will never agree."
"He doesn't know that." Phoebe looked desperate. "Cole, I need you to get me Jeric. He can tell us where Billie is before it's too late."
Cole shifted uneasily. "What if he doesn't? What if he kills me and then comes after you and your sisters?"
"Then I guess my heart was wrong. But, isn't it worth the risk? Isn't it worth risking death to save someone else?"
Cole rolled his eyes at Phoebe turning his own words against him. "I guess it is," he said, shimmering out.
"Thank you," Phoebe whispered.
Half an hour passed. Prue had since taken over scrying, Paige was still sensing for Billie, and Piper and Leo were tending to Wyatt and Chris. Coop, Henry, and Phoebe were taking turns flipping through the Book of Shadows to see if there was another way to locate a witch.
Cole shimmered back in. "Phoebe, can I see you in private?"
Coop raised his eyebrow at Phoebe, but she just gave him a look at said, "Don't read so much into it."
"Well?" Phoebe asked when they were out of earshot of the others.
"I found him. He's waiting for us in the basement."
"Who's 'him?'" Piper asked.
Phoebe and Cole whirled around to see Leo and Piper standing there, arms crossed.
Cole looked at Phoebe.
"It was his idea," Phoebe insisted.
Piper and Leo didn't look convinced.
"Crap."
Jeric waited patiently in the Halliwells' basement. Cole had said that the sisters were willing to return Isis to him, but he had to divulge where Christy had taken Billie. Soon, my love, we will be together again. It had been impossible to restore Isis even temporary after he had been vanquished. Being resurrected came with the price that his magic's strength waned.
"My, my, my. Making a pact with the angel, are we?" A mocking voice rang through the basement.
"Who are you?" Jeric demanded. He was not in the mood to play games.
"I am a demon," the voice answered. "Next question."
"Show yourself!"
The demon appeared in front of him. Jeric recognized him immediately.
"Barbas."
"I have a proposition," Barbas said. "You agree with the sisters to bring them to Christy in return for Isis, and I won't tell Christy what you're doing."
"What are you planning, Barbas?"
He grinned. "You needn't worry about a thing. Take the deal." He teleported out, and the sisters walked into the basement.
Jeric tried to hide whatever emotion he was showing to his conversation with Barbas and faced the sisters with a neutral face. "You told me," he said to Cole, "that it was just Phoebe."
"Change of plans," Piper said, staring Jeric down. "Take us to Christy and you'll get Isis."
"Give me Isis and I'll take you to Christy."
"Forget it," Prue said. "You need us."
"And you need me."
"Yes, but we can vanquish you right here; you can't," Paige pointed out.
"Fine," he said reluctantly. "But if Isis is not returned to me—"
"Yeah, yeah, we know," Piper snapped. "Now take us to Christy."
"Wait, what's the plan?" Prue asked. "I mean, we don't have any potions or anything…"
"We go in there, grab Billie, and run," Paige answered. "Seems pretty simple to me. I don't think we can face her right now, anyway, not with all those demons running around. We'd take her out and then they'd all come after us at once. Right now, she's the only thing holding them back."
"Fine," Phoebe said. "Are we ready?"
The three other sisters nodded. Cole said, "I'm coming along… just in case."
Jeric teleported out, and Cole and the sisters followed.
Christy slammed her fist against the wall. "Damn it! Why won't it work?"
"Having some magical trouble, girl?" Phoebe asked as the sisters orbed in with Cole and Jeric.
Christy saw Jeric and her face contorted in anger. "You! How dare you!"
"They promised me my love now," he simply replied.
"I can give her to you, now!" Christy spontaneously hurled a fireball at Jeric, who burst into flames, howling in agony.
The sisters stared at the pile of ash that had been Jeric a few moments before in disbelief.
"Is there anyone you won't kill?" Paige asked in horror.
"I kill when it is necessary."
"Where is your sister, Christy?" Phoebe demanded.
"Not going with you."
Barbas appeared.
"You," Prue said, wondering what would happen now that one of the worst demons they had ever encountered was now in the mix.
"Do it, Barbas," Christy commanded.
Barbas looked disgusted at being given orders but waved his hand over the sisters' faces. "Well, well, well… it looks like your worst fear is losing Billie to Christy. That can be arranged."
Billie suddenly appeared at Christy's side.
"And, what do you know, that's Billie's worst fear as well."
"Billie come with us," Phoebe said. "Please."
Billie didn't move. "I belong here with my sister," she said in a monotone.
Prue elbowed Paige and mouthed something to her.
"Oh," she said, reading Prue's mind. She held her arms out. "Billie!" she called.
Billie remained where she was standing.
"I told you guys, she's not leaving with you."
Piper placed her arms as if to blow Billie up, but Phoebe grabbed her arms. "Wait, don't!"
"Phoebe, she's on Christy's side."
"I have an idea, Piper."
"And what would that be?"
Phoebe walked right up to Billie.
"Back away from my sister," Christy snarled.
"Why?" Phoebe demanded. "Afraid your plan isn't working?"
Christy backed away. "Can't let go, can you?"
"Billie, I know you can hear me," Phoebe said. "You need to snap out of this. Barbas is doing this to you. It's your fear. If you can fight your fear, then it will vanquish him."
Christy's eyes widened.
"Uh huh, didn't think of that, did ya?" Piper asked, smug.
Christy went to pull Billie away.
"Not so sure of your sister anymore?" Prue asked.
Christy ignored her and pulled on Billie. Billie didn't move. "Billie!"
"Sibling issues?" Paige teased.
"Billie, come on!"
Phoebe could see Billie's neutral face turn into one of struggle. Billie wanted to go with her sister, and yet a part of her held her back.
Christy let go of her sister. "Fine, then I'll get rid of what's holding you back!" She formed a fireball in her hands.
"Fireball," Paige called, but hesitated on throwing it. Technically, Christy was still a good witch, and there was no turning back from killing one of those.
Christy simple formed another one.
"Billie, she's gonna kill us," Phoebe cried desperately. "Do something!"
Something seemed to click in Billie's head, and she shook her head. She looked at Christy. "Christy?"
"We have to kill them, now," Christy replied.
Billie looked at Phoebe. She hesitated, then said, "No."
"What?"
"I won't. I can't be on your side, I'm sorry." Tears streamed down Billie's cheeks.
Christy whirled and looked at Barbas. "You told me! You told me this plan was fool-proof."
He shrugged. "I guess I was wrong."
"You told me this was her worst fear and she couldn't overcome it!"
He brought his face closer to hers and said slowly, "I guess I was wrong."
"I'm not afraid of joining your side, anymore, Christy," Billie said strongly. "I'm sorry, but you're not the Christy I knew, and you're not the Christy I'm looking for."
Barbas began bursting into flames. "Oh, I'll be back… after all, 'The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear!'" He exploded, and a thick smoke filled the cavern.
When it cleared, Christy was gone.
Phoebe hugged Billie. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," Billie said, trying to convince herself.
Author's Note:
Okay, very long chapter that's taken four months to finish... I am SO sorry, I feel so bad it took this long!
Anyway, I'm pretty happy with it. I had a few earlier drafts that weren't phrased the way I wanted it, and this is as close as the way I was hoping it'd turn out...
This chapter basically got some more demons vanquished so we're *that* much closer to the big battle at the end... Stay tuned, same bat time, same bat place... hahaha
And, as usual, comments, criticism, questions, etc., are all welcome.
Also I hope everyone had a great holiday season and will have a wonderful New Year!!
I have another break from school in a month or so, and hopefully this means more writing time... Next up on the batting order, Gamil and the Source!
KateB819