Long chapter ahead. Be warned. I am very proud of this chapter if I do say so myself...the emotion, man. The emotion! Anyway, you can read it now.
They had their plans formed and they were ready. Piper and Jess were to go "up there" and find Leo to get him out.
Prue, Hallie, and Phoebe were going to say a spell and send Lynn to The Cave, then she would link with Phoebe's magic and send her a premonition when they should come.
It was all ready, someone just needed to say the word.
"Okay then." Piper finally spoke up. "Jess, if you would."
"I'm not sure if it'll work." Jess said. "I've only done it once."
"Well, give it your best shot." Piper said.
Jess took a deep breath then grabbed Piper's hand. She closed her eyes and concentrated.
After a few minutes, Jess and Piper disappeared in two clouds of green and pink orbs.
"Alright...let's get this over with." Lynn said.
Phoebe, Hallie, and Prue began the spell.
"With this spell the way we pave,
Send Lynn safely to The Cave."
An orange smoke appeared at Lynn's feet, then slowly moved up and when it completely covered her, it began to swirl and Lynn slowly faded until she was gone.
"Now what do we do?" Hallie asked.
"We wait." Prue said. Phoebe and Hallie could both tell that Prue hated to just sit and wait.
Meanwhile, "up there"...
Jess and Piper had successfully orbed up.
"I didn't think it would really work." Jess said. "But my energy is kinda spent. When we get Leo out, he's gotta orb us."
"I guess that's a side-effect." Piper said. They ducked behind two large white pillars. "So, what do we do?"
Jess slid down a pillar and sat on the ground. Her energy was really spent.
"Get a whitelighter robe and put the hood up, then find him." Jess told her.
"What do you mean? You're speaking in the singular tense." Piper said.
"My energy is really spent. I can't do it. You go and bring Leo to me and I think he can heal me and get back some of my energy." Jess said.
"Alright." Piper said. Piper crept over to a wall and snatched two whitelighter robes from a hook and went back to Jess. She threw one of the robes lightly to Jess and it fell on her lap.
"What is this for?" Jess asked.
"If you hear someone coming, toss that on. I don't want you getting caught." Piper whispered.
Jess just nodded and Piper put her robe on and flipped the hood up. She smiled at Jess and walked off.
Meanwhile, on Earth...
Lynn appeared in front of The Cave. She looked into The Cave and shuddered. She hated knowing what happened when someone went in there...
A twig snapping behind her made her turn swiftly around.
"Phoebe?" Lynn asked squinting to be sure.
"Yeah," Phoebe answered. "I couldn't let you come alone. They sent me here with a spell."
"Oh...okay." Lynn said and turned back to The Cave.
"Just before you got here, we sent Prue. I think she went in looking for you." Phoebe said.
"No." Was all Lynn said.
"Yes, she's inside. Go to her." Phoebe urged.
"No, she's-she's home." Lynn said.
Behind her, Phoebe lifted her arm and opened her hand. A blue, electric current, like the one used on Conleth, drifted toward Lynn.
It gripped her around the throat and she fell to her knees. Once Phoebe finished, she pulled her hand away and Lynn stood up and looked at her.
"Prue is in the cave." Phoebe said. "Go to Prue."
What Phoebe didn't know, was that Lynn knew that it was Maruka and she had sent the premonition to Phoebe, the real Phoebe, and they would be here any minute.
"No." Lynn defied.
"What?" Phoebe's voice became uncharacteristically deep and almost sounded like Belthazor, but was one notch lighter.
"I said no." Lynn said.
"Do not defy me." Phoebe said in the new, deep voice.
"Well, I am." Lynn said. In truth, Lynn only felt like she was getting weaker.
Maruka changed into his demon form.
"Enough of this." Maruka snarled. "Get in The Cave."
"I will not." Lynn snapped.
Meanwhile, "up there"...
Piper still didn't like it that she had left Jess, but she realized how weak that Jess must have been.
Piper walked slowly, she didn't want anyone to think she was out of place.
She learned the hard way that "up here" had no signs directing anyone to anywhere. There were a bunch of nonsense signs that read 'Here', 'There', 'Everyplace', and other nonsense things like that.
She finally got the nerve and walked up to a man, but she kept her face well hidden.
She made her voice sound deeper, like they did in the movies when a woman was impersonating a man.
"Excuse me," She said. "where is the, uh, jail?"
"Jail? You must've just gotten up here, huh?" The man asked.
Piper really had no time for small talk, but she played along. He could have the information she needed. "Yes, I just arrived."
"Well, what you call the jail, is just down that way and to the left." The man said and pointed. To Piper everything up here seemed exactly the same, but to the locals, it was apparently all different.
Piper thanked the man then walked down the "hall".
She walked for a bit, then saw a small hall that appeared to have cells. Piper wondered why everything had to be white as she walked down the hall.
She noticed that everyone in the cells seemed very depressed and they all looked as if they'd been through a giant ordeal.
There were only a few cells and very few prisoners. Piper figured that they just didn't need them up here.
She got to one cell and her heart stopped.
There sat a man with his head in his hands. He was wearing a long sleeved flannel shirt, with the cuff buttons undone. His hair looked tousled and he looked very different from the other prisoners, they were all amazingly well groomed even as prisoners.
But when the man lifted his head, Piper saw the udder downtrodden, depressed look on the man's face that every other prisoner had.
"Leo." Piper half whispered.
Leo looked over at her and the sadness faded from his eyes.
"Piper." He whispered and ran to the bars.
"I'm getting you out of here." Piper told him.
"What? How? You can't..." Leo began.
"Shhhhhhh." Piper said. "Now back up."
Leo did as she commanded and Piper took a deep breath.
'I'll either freeze him, blow up the bars, or...blow him up.' Piper thought as she raised her hands.
She had an unsure look on her face when she flicked her fingers, but it all worked out for the best. The bars shattered and Leo ran out of the cell and hugged her.
"Let's go." He said.
"Wait! Jess is here...we've got to get to her first." Piper told him.
They could hear many footsteps coming their way...and fast.
"Uh....uh..." Piper stuttered and looked around. She saw a golden pair of handcuffs and got an idea.
Meanwhile, on Earth...
Lynn was fighting Maruka's magic the best she could, but the thoughts began mingling and The Cave started to sound good.
'The Cave...go into The Cave and save Prue...' An echo-like voice in her head said. It was like the voice of an adult child, if that made sense. She was beginning to believe it.
Lynn stood up and turned toward The Cave. She took a step forward, but a faded image of a woman appeared.
"No," She said to Lynn. "Prue is not in this Cave. Do not go in. Fight the voice. Fight Lynn. You can do it."
"No...Prue is in The Cave." Lynn said almost like a robot.
"No, she is not." The woman said. "You are my daughter and I know you are strong. Fight him. Fight."
"Fight." Lynn whispered. The woman simply looked lovingly at Lynn, then faded away. Lynn turned around with fury in her eyes.
"I'm fighting!" She screamed. She raised her hand and an orange ball of static energy appeared and shot out. It hit Maruka near the heart and he fell to his knees.
"I'm fighting." Lynn said again. She kept repeating it and got louder each time she did. Every time she said it, she also took a step toward Maruka.
She looked him straight in the eye and said with great determination and anger, "I'm fighting."
She then placed her hand on his shoulder and closed her eyes. She concentrated then, her arm seemed to become wrapped in an electric, orange current.
When Lynn opened her eyes, the current left her arm and zapped Maruka. He screamed in pain then he passed out and fell backwards.
Lynn fell to her knees, her energy spent, and glanced to her left just to see Prue's SUV pull up near the clearing just before she passed out.
Meanwhile, "up there"...
Piper hand put the handcuffs on Leo, but she hadn't fastened them.
They walked by some of the guards that appeared and Piper explained in her fake deep voice, "Escorting a prisoner."
Leo pretended to be as downtrodden as before, but he was really swimming with happiness.
When they got to the pillar where Piper left Jess, Leo threw off the handcuffs and rushed to her.
She was unconscious, but Leo quickly healed her and she woke up.
"How do you feel?" Piper asked.
"Sixty-five percent." Jess answered groggily.
"Come on then." Leo said and took Jess' hand. He then took Piper's arm and orbed out with them.
Meanwhile, on Earth...
Hallie, Prue, and Phoebe got out of the car and rushed to the clearing.
"Lynn! Lynn!" Hallie screamed as she ran through the brush and jumped over some fallen tree logs and tree roots. When she got to Lynn, she practically skidded to her knees and scooped Lynn up in her arms.
"Wake up...come on...wake up." She said gently. Lynn showed no signs of waking. She was breathing and her pulse was strong, but she just wasn't with them on a conscious level.
Prue and Phoebe checked Maruka and discovered that he was still alive.
"After a zap like that?" Phoebe commented.
"Who cares." Prue said. "Let's just through him into The Cave."
Phoebe went over to Hallie and put a hand on her shoulder, then bent down.
"Hallie honey, you've got to help us." Phoebe told her in a gentle voice.
Hallie held back her tears and inwardly cursed her emotionalism.
"Yeah, okay." Hallie said and laid Lynn's head down.
Prue grabbed Maruka's right arm, Hallie grabbed his left, and Phoebe got his feet.
"One...two...three...lift." Prue said and they all lifted up. Hallie looked away when his head flopped down.
"He is one heavy demon." Phoebe said as they slowly carried him to The Cave.
None of them noticed because they were carrying Maruka, but Lynn woke up and propped herself up on one elbow.
"One...two...toss." Prue said and they all swung and threw.
Maruka tumbled into The Cave and they waited. Nothing happened for a bit, but then they heard the most terrible scream that anyone has ever heard.
Then, the ground began to shake and suddenly a very bright, golden light came from The Cave.
Hallie, Phoebe, and Prue shielded their eyes and stepped a few steps back. They watched as white orb after orb exited The Cave and moved heavenward.
After the orbs all left, The Cave returned to its normal blackness and the ground shook once more. This time black orbs shot out of The Cave and fell to the ground. They were all steaming and looked as if they were extremely burnt.
Prue, Phoebe, and Hallie ran back over by Lynn to avoid getting hit. After each blackened orb had come out, they all began sinking one by one into the ground.
"Is it over?" Hallie asked looking at Prue.
"For now." Prue answered still looking ahead at The Cave.
Hallie looked down and saw that Lynn was awake. A look of pure joy spread over her face and a huge smile appeared on her face. She squealed and bent down to help Lynn up.
Lynn slung an arm around Hallie's shoulder and Hallie wrapped an arm around Lynn's waist and grabbed the hand that belonged to the arm around her shoulder, all to help Lynn stand.
"Quite the experience." Lynn said looking at The Cave.
Everyone else looked at The Cave as well and they all agreed. This was an experience and they all knew that, like any other time, their lives would not be the same.
They had their plans formed and they were ready. Piper and Jess were to go "up there" and find Leo to get him out.
Prue, Hallie, and Phoebe were going to say a spell and send Lynn to The Cave, then she would link with Phoebe's magic and send her a premonition when they should come.
It was all ready, someone just needed to say the word.
"Okay then." Piper finally spoke up. "Jess, if you would."
"I'm not sure if it'll work." Jess said. "I've only done it once."
"Well, give it your best shot." Piper said.
Jess took a deep breath then grabbed Piper's hand. She closed her eyes and concentrated.
After a few minutes, Jess and Piper disappeared in two clouds of green and pink orbs.
"Alright...let's get this over with." Lynn said.
Phoebe, Hallie, and Prue began the spell.
"With this spell the way we pave,
Send Lynn safely to The Cave."
An orange smoke appeared at Lynn's feet, then slowly moved up and when it completely covered her, it began to swirl and Lynn slowly faded until she was gone.
"Now what do we do?" Hallie asked.
"We wait." Prue said. Phoebe and Hallie could both tell that Prue hated to just sit and wait.
Meanwhile, "up there"...
Jess and Piper had successfully orbed up.
"I didn't think it would really work." Jess said. "But my energy is kinda spent. When we get Leo out, he's gotta orb us."
"I guess that's a side-effect." Piper said. They ducked behind two large white pillars. "So, what do we do?"
Jess slid down a pillar and sat on the ground. Her energy was really spent.
"Get a whitelighter robe and put the hood up, then find him." Jess told her.
"What do you mean? You're speaking in the singular tense." Piper said.
"My energy is really spent. I can't do it. You go and bring Leo to me and I think he can heal me and get back some of my energy." Jess said.
"Alright." Piper said. Piper crept over to a wall and snatched two whitelighter robes from a hook and went back to Jess. She threw one of the robes lightly to Jess and it fell on her lap.
"What is this for?" Jess asked.
"If you hear someone coming, toss that on. I don't want you getting caught." Piper whispered.
Jess just nodded and Piper put her robe on and flipped the hood up. She smiled at Jess and walked off.
Meanwhile, on Earth...
Lynn appeared in front of The Cave. She looked into The Cave and shuddered. She hated knowing what happened when someone went in there...
A twig snapping behind her made her turn swiftly around.
"Phoebe?" Lynn asked squinting to be sure.
"Yeah," Phoebe answered. "I couldn't let you come alone. They sent me here with a spell."
"Oh...okay." Lynn said and turned back to The Cave.
"Just before you got here, we sent Prue. I think she went in looking for you." Phoebe said.
"No." Was all Lynn said.
"Yes, she's inside. Go to her." Phoebe urged.
"No, she's-she's home." Lynn said.
Behind her, Phoebe lifted her arm and opened her hand. A blue, electric current, like the one used on Conleth, drifted toward Lynn.
It gripped her around the throat and she fell to her knees. Once Phoebe finished, she pulled her hand away and Lynn stood up and looked at her.
"Prue is in the cave." Phoebe said. "Go to Prue."
What Phoebe didn't know, was that Lynn knew that it was Maruka and she had sent the premonition to Phoebe, the real Phoebe, and they would be here any minute.
"No." Lynn defied.
"What?" Phoebe's voice became uncharacteristically deep and almost sounded like Belthazor, but was one notch lighter.
"I said no." Lynn said.
"Do not defy me." Phoebe said in the new, deep voice.
"Well, I am." Lynn said. In truth, Lynn only felt like she was getting weaker.
Maruka changed into his demon form.
"Enough of this." Maruka snarled. "Get in The Cave."
"I will not." Lynn snapped.
Meanwhile, "up there"...
Piper still didn't like it that she had left Jess, but she realized how weak that Jess must have been.
Piper walked slowly, she didn't want anyone to think she was out of place.
She learned the hard way that "up here" had no signs directing anyone to anywhere. There were a bunch of nonsense signs that read 'Here', 'There', 'Everyplace', and other nonsense things like that.
She finally got the nerve and walked up to a man, but she kept her face well hidden.
She made her voice sound deeper, like they did in the movies when a woman was impersonating a man.
"Excuse me," She said. "where is the, uh, jail?"
"Jail? You must've just gotten up here, huh?" The man asked.
Piper really had no time for small talk, but she played along. He could have the information she needed. "Yes, I just arrived."
"Well, what you call the jail, is just down that way and to the left." The man said and pointed. To Piper everything up here seemed exactly the same, but to the locals, it was apparently all different.
Piper thanked the man then walked down the "hall".
She walked for a bit, then saw a small hall that appeared to have cells. Piper wondered why everything had to be white as she walked down the hall.
She noticed that everyone in the cells seemed very depressed and they all looked as if they'd been through a giant ordeal.
There were only a few cells and very few prisoners. Piper figured that they just didn't need them up here.
She got to one cell and her heart stopped.
There sat a man with his head in his hands. He was wearing a long sleeved flannel shirt, with the cuff buttons undone. His hair looked tousled and he looked very different from the other prisoners, they were all amazingly well groomed even as prisoners.
But when the man lifted his head, Piper saw the udder downtrodden, depressed look on the man's face that every other prisoner had.
"Leo." Piper half whispered.
Leo looked over at her and the sadness faded from his eyes.
"Piper." He whispered and ran to the bars.
"I'm getting you out of here." Piper told him.
"What? How? You can't..." Leo began.
"Shhhhhhh." Piper said. "Now back up."
Leo did as she commanded and Piper took a deep breath.
'I'll either freeze him, blow up the bars, or...blow him up.' Piper thought as she raised her hands.
She had an unsure look on her face when she flicked her fingers, but it all worked out for the best. The bars shattered and Leo ran out of the cell and hugged her.
"Let's go." He said.
"Wait! Jess is here...we've got to get to her first." Piper told him.
They could hear many footsteps coming their way...and fast.
"Uh....uh..." Piper stuttered and looked around. She saw a golden pair of handcuffs and got an idea.
Meanwhile, on Earth...
Lynn was fighting Maruka's magic the best she could, but the thoughts began mingling and The Cave started to sound good.
'The Cave...go into The Cave and save Prue...' An echo-like voice in her head said. It was like the voice of an adult child, if that made sense. She was beginning to believe it.
Lynn stood up and turned toward The Cave. She took a step forward, but a faded image of a woman appeared.
"No," She said to Lynn. "Prue is not in this Cave. Do not go in. Fight the voice. Fight Lynn. You can do it."
"No...Prue is in The Cave." Lynn said almost like a robot.
"No, she is not." The woman said. "You are my daughter and I know you are strong. Fight him. Fight."
"Fight." Lynn whispered. The woman simply looked lovingly at Lynn, then faded away. Lynn turned around with fury in her eyes.
"I'm fighting!" She screamed. She raised her hand and an orange ball of static energy appeared and shot out. It hit Maruka near the heart and he fell to his knees.
"I'm fighting." Lynn said again. She kept repeating it and got louder each time she did. Every time she said it, she also took a step toward Maruka.
She looked him straight in the eye and said with great determination and anger, "I'm fighting."
She then placed her hand on his shoulder and closed her eyes. She concentrated then, her arm seemed to become wrapped in an electric, orange current.
When Lynn opened her eyes, the current left her arm and zapped Maruka. He screamed in pain then he passed out and fell backwards.
Lynn fell to her knees, her energy spent, and glanced to her left just to see Prue's SUV pull up near the clearing just before she passed out.
Meanwhile, "up there"...
Piper hand put the handcuffs on Leo, but she hadn't fastened them.
They walked by some of the guards that appeared and Piper explained in her fake deep voice, "Escorting a prisoner."
Leo pretended to be as downtrodden as before, but he was really swimming with happiness.
When they got to the pillar where Piper left Jess, Leo threw off the handcuffs and rushed to her.
She was unconscious, but Leo quickly healed her and she woke up.
"How do you feel?" Piper asked.
"Sixty-five percent." Jess answered groggily.
"Come on then." Leo said and took Jess' hand. He then took Piper's arm and orbed out with them.
Meanwhile, on Earth...
Hallie, Prue, and Phoebe got out of the car and rushed to the clearing.
"Lynn! Lynn!" Hallie screamed as she ran through the brush and jumped over some fallen tree logs and tree roots. When she got to Lynn, she practically skidded to her knees and scooped Lynn up in her arms.
"Wake up...come on...wake up." She said gently. Lynn showed no signs of waking. She was breathing and her pulse was strong, but she just wasn't with them on a conscious level.
Prue and Phoebe checked Maruka and discovered that he was still alive.
"After a zap like that?" Phoebe commented.
"Who cares." Prue said. "Let's just through him into The Cave."
Phoebe went over to Hallie and put a hand on her shoulder, then bent down.
"Hallie honey, you've got to help us." Phoebe told her in a gentle voice.
Hallie held back her tears and inwardly cursed her emotionalism.
"Yeah, okay." Hallie said and laid Lynn's head down.
Prue grabbed Maruka's right arm, Hallie grabbed his left, and Phoebe got his feet.
"One...two...three...lift." Prue said and they all lifted up. Hallie looked away when his head flopped down.
"He is one heavy demon." Phoebe said as they slowly carried him to The Cave.
None of them noticed because they were carrying Maruka, but Lynn woke up and propped herself up on one elbow.
"One...two...toss." Prue said and they all swung and threw.
Maruka tumbled into The Cave and they waited. Nothing happened for a bit, but then they heard the most terrible scream that anyone has ever heard.
Then, the ground began to shake and suddenly a very bright, golden light came from The Cave.
Hallie, Phoebe, and Prue shielded their eyes and stepped a few steps back. They watched as white orb after orb exited The Cave and moved heavenward.
After the orbs all left, The Cave returned to its normal blackness and the ground shook once more. This time black orbs shot out of The Cave and fell to the ground. They were all steaming and looked as if they were extremely burnt.
Prue, Phoebe, and Hallie ran back over by Lynn to avoid getting hit. After each blackened orb had come out, they all began sinking one by one into the ground.
"Is it over?" Hallie asked looking at Prue.
"For now." Prue answered still looking ahead at The Cave.
Hallie looked down and saw that Lynn was awake. A look of pure joy spread over her face and a huge smile appeared on her face. She squealed and bent down to help Lynn up.
Lynn slung an arm around Hallie's shoulder and Hallie wrapped an arm around Lynn's waist and grabbed the hand that belonged to the arm around her shoulder, all to help Lynn stand.
"Quite the experience." Lynn said looking at The Cave.
Everyone else looked at The Cave as well and they all agreed. This was an experience and they all knew that, like any other time, their lives would not be the same.