"Fragmented"
By E. Michelle Logan
Special thanks to Jessica N.
Disclaimer: I don't own Charmed.
Note: This is a work in progress (hopefully). Please feel free to offer constructive criticism of any sort. :)
Phoebe felt tears roll down her cheeks as she watched the sun sink down past the horizon. With its last rays the sun cast the lake red. Phoebe shivered as she pulled herself out of the icy water and looked ahead. Ahead darkness covered the land and concealed beasts and beauties and the filthy and the clean. Phoebe wiped tears away from her cheeks and she trudged through the mud and reeds so that she could take shelter from the open.
Somewhere in the distance an owl hooted and its single, plaintive call warned and told the world of Phoebe Halliwell. Phoebe called out to the owl, needing a companion, begging for forgiveness, wishing for remembrance. She shouted out to the owl which she had named Nadine because she needed a friend now because she had none and because the name Nadine meant "hope," and that was also what she needed.
"Please where are you, Nadine?" Phoebe cried both angrily and desperately. Phoebe waited in the darkness under an elm tree. Among the pine trees the elm tree seemed strange and the leaves that gathered around its knobby roots offered Phoebe a soft place to sit and stare at the stars and look for the moon. She looked up and saw a dark form fly above her. "Nadine," Phoebe whispered and she reached up toward the sky.
Phoebe looked at her hands that she had stretched up to the endless sky. They felt dirty and empty. In shame Phoebe pulled them down and buried them in the leaves. Then exhausted she lay down against the trunk of the bald tree and tried to use the leaves to cover herself.
At first Phoebe dreamt that the elm transformed into a leafy oak tree. The oak tree, with its massive and strong roots, grew around her and cradled and protected Phoebe like a mother would hold a sleeping child. Beautiful birds came to speak to her and then they would fly back to the Heavens that they had descended from. Two birds especially, a great horned owl named Nadine and an eagle named Perdita, came to talk with her.
For many years the oak tree grew around Phoebe in an eternal spring, and Phoebe herself never changed, never aged a year, a day, a moment. Then one year winter came in a sudden and blinding snow storm and all the birds flew away. One morning Phoebe woke up to discover that her strong and glorious oak tree had become a cypress tree. The pale gray tree stood in the center of lazy river and its green leaves grew as if spring had never ended. Phoebe became sad and she started to wonder where her sisters were, so kindly she asked if the cypress tree would release her because she missed Prue and Piper.
The tree changed into a gorgeous willow tree and the river below slowly receded until the tree merely stood nearby instead of in it. The willow, with its drooping branches, sadly released Phoebe and told her to look at its trunk because she should find a gift. When Phoebe looked down she saw a four leaf clover next to one of the willow's root. Phoebe gladly thanked the willow tree and she took the tiny clover into both her hands. The willow sighed in response and its once soft, green leaves fell to the ground yellow and brown in color.
When Phoebe woke she found herself laying in her bed tangled in her blankets. Sun shone through her window onto the floor and downstairs she could hear her sisters moving about. Quickly she got up and ran down the stairs where she saw Piper trying to brush the cat hair off the couch. Phoebe grabbed Piper and hugged her tightly.
"Good morning," Piper said. Phoebe just snuggled with her. "Hey, what's the deal?" Piper asked gently.
"I had a dream and I didn't know where you and Prue were." Phoebe explained. Piper worked her arms out of Phoebe's grip and she wrapped them around her younger sister and returned the hug. They held each other silently until Prue came out of the kitchen carrying one of her cameras. "Prue, please hold me." Phoebe whispered so that her sisters wouldn't hear her voice crack.
"Are you okay, Phoebs?" Prue asked with slight alarm in her voice. She, as asked, grabbed Piper and Phoebe in a hug.
"She had a nightmare, Prue." Piper said quietly.
"Don't worry, Phoebe; we're here for you." Prue insisted and Phoebe pulled away breaking up the hug.
"But in my dream you weren't." Phoebe sniffled sounding both betrayed and doubtful. She hugged herself and turned like she intended to go back up the stairs.
"But it was only a dream!" Prue reminded her slightly forcefully.
"Wait, you don't think it was a premonition, do you?" Piper asked and looked around nervously before taking a step closer to Phoebe. Phoebe turned back around still hugging herself.
"I don't know," Phoebe said honestly and wiped her eyes.
"All right, Phoebs, you and I will go check out the Book of Shadows for information on dreams. Piper, please make some tea and bring it up to us." Prue said and she led Phoebe toward the stairs. Piper nodded and headed to the kitchen. "Do you know what to look for?" Prue placed a supportive hand on Phoebe's shoulder as they climbed the stairs.
"There were lots of trees in my dream and talking birds." Phoebe said uncertainly. "I seemed to talk to two birds named Nadine and Perdita especially."
"What kinds of trees?" Prue opened the attic door for Phoebe. They walked over to the podium where the Book of Shadows sat. Prue, offering Phoebe a half smile, opened the book and started to flip through the pages.
"An elm, an oak, a cypress, and a willow tree appeared in my dream." Phoebe said. The sisters were silent for a moment as they looked.
"Someday I will make an index for this thing." Prue promised softly and Phoebe laughed. She smiled at Phoebe again, glad to hear her laugh. Prue opened her mouth to say something but the sound of glass shattering and Piper's shrill scream interrupted her.
"Piper!" Prue cried desperately and she ran out of the attic with Phoebe sprinting after her. They raced down the stairs and into the kitchen with fear in their eyes.
A human form with a pair of black wings leaned over Piper frozen in position. Mugs and their black kettle and little pieces of glass hung in the air and the kitchen window had been shattered. Piper panted nervously and clutched her left arm to her chest. Prue thoughtlessly threw the black-winged creature into a counter where it unfroze and took in the scene with its very human eyes. Prue noted that the only inhuman features it had were its fang-filled mouth and claw-covered fingers. The creatures growled angrily and it disappeared in a blue ball of light. Glass cracked loudly as Prue knelt down next to Piper.
"Phoebe, get me some towels!" Prue said as she took in her sister's injuries. Piper's arm had four claw marks along it and a large spot of blood was starting to appear on Piper's left pant leg just above her knee.
Phoebe ran to the laundry room and quickly searched for the towels. In a basket on top of the washer she found the needed items and turned back to head for the kitchen. She could hear Piper mumbling.
"P-prue, I love you."
"It's okay, Piper." Prue insisted anxiously.
"W-where's Ph-pheobe?"
"Don't worry, Piper." Prue murmured as she twisted around to see Phoebe run back in with two dark green towels in her hands.
"Here!" Phoebe said and she too knelt down in the glass next to Piper.
"Love you, Ph-pheobe." Piper stumbled over the words.
"I love you too, Honey." Phoebe managed a tiny smile for her fallen sister.
"You apply pressure to the wound on her leg while I apply pressure to her arm!" Prue ordered and she moved out of the way so that Phoebe could place the towel on the bloody spot on Piper's leg. Piper shut her eyes and whimpered softly. "It's okay, Sweetie." Prue said.
Then the mugs and the kettle and the glass pieces crashed to the ground causing all the sisters to jerk in surprise.
"Prue, did you see the way that monster disappeared?" Phoebe asked. Her voice shook as she spoke and she concentrated on the towel she held on Piper's leg.
"Yeah, why?" Prue lifted her towel off Piper's arm for a moment to look at the gashes and she started to wrap the towel around the arm carefully.
"It disappeared the way Leo always used before he became mortal." Phoebe said. The girls were silent again and there was a knock on the door. Prue, realizing that Phoebe was in no condition to answer the door, got up and hurried to answer it. She had only unlocked the door when it started to swing open and Leo ran in.
"Are you guys okay?" Sweat dripped down his face and he ran past Prue looking around frantically. He hurried into the kitchen where Prue could hear the glass from the window cracking under his feet. "Oh God, I'm too late!" Leo cried from the kitchen. Prue slammed the door shut and dashed into the kitchen.
"You're too late for what!?" Prue cried. Leo sat next to Piper gently stroking her long brown hair. Phoebe had her head down on Piper's lap and Prue could hear her sobbing. "She's not dead!" Prue shouted and she bit her lower lip to try to keep from crying as she placed her finger's against Piper's neck. A thin pulse beat against her fingers and Prue sighed. She turned to Leo, "What's going on?"
"I heard something about you guys and I wanted to warn you, but I came too late. I'm so sorry!" Leo sounded choked up.
"No, no, Piper's still alive!" Prue insisted.
"No, I mean that Phoebe's punishment has already begun." Leo told her sadly.
"My punishment?" Phoebe up looked from Piper's lap. Her face was red and unshed tears sat on the rims of her lower eyelids. "What have I done?"
"You've cast spells for personal gain." Leo answered.
"We've all done that!" Prue screamed angrily.
"Yes, but Phoebe the most, so now she must be punished." Leo refused to look into the sisters' eyes.
"If I'm being punished then why is Piper dying?" Phoebe shrieked.
"Because you care about Piper and to watch her die is the worst punishment."
"Hospital." Phoebe said suddenly, "We've got to get her to the hospital!"
"No, that would be the worst place to take her. Then she'll be in one place and they'll easily be able to finish her. Besides, there's nothing that modern medicine can do for Piper now." Leo leaned against Piper and kissed her cheek.
"This is a trick!" Phoebe shouted hysterically. "The Power of Three has to remain! The Charmed Ones must stay alive!" Prue moved over to Phoebe and hugged her tightly.
"The Elders may have found another way to keep the Power of Three alive even if the Charmed Ones aren't." Leo's voice sounded very tired.
"P-prue...Phoeb-b-b-be..." Piper spoke through a trembling jaw. "L-le-leo...I'm s-so-so-sorry." Her eyelids drooped and her head ducked forward slightly then backward. The rhythm continued and Prue squeezed Piper's hand.
"Leo, can you carry her out to the couch?" Prue asked. Leo nodded and silently took Piper's shivering body out to the living room. Prue followed him. Phoebe stood up from the kitchen and watched them walk away. As tears streamed down her face she looked up to the ceiling angrily.
"You once taught us that it is not our place to punish others, but to chose to help them! What makes it your place to punish us in such a cruel way?!" Phoebe shouted madly. "If you teach us to be forgiving then why are you so unforgiving!? What makes you so high and mighty that you can just take lives or keep them based on when you need them!? Damn you! Damn you all!" Prue rushed back into the kitchen and grabbed Phoebe in the tightest hug she could.
"Oh, Phoebs," Prue sobbed.
"Why are they killing her, Prue? Oh why?" Phoebe cried on Prue's shoulder and slowly they sank to the kitchen floor and cried together.
"Prue, Phoebe we should leave. The farther we go the lower the chance we have of being attacked." Leo stood in the doorway.
"Why? Can't the Elders track us?" Phoebe asked bitterly.
"Yes, but it's impossible to orb into a moving vehicle." Leo said. Phoebe and Prue slowly got up off of the floor together and walked to Leo.
"The Miata would probably be faster, but the Cherokee undoubtedly has more room." Prue said and she went to get Piper's keys. "Leo, would you carry Piper out to the car?" Leo silently walked over to the couch and knelt down next to Piper. He stroked her sweat-covered cheek and kissed her gently before picking her up.
"I'll get the door." Phoebe said and she ran open it. Outside the door stood Dan with a bouquet of orange gladioli, yellow daffodils, and yellow and orange striped carnations. "Dan!" Phoebe jumped in surprise.
"Is Piper okay?" Dan dropped his bouquet onto the ground and rushed to Leo and Piper's sides. He grabbed Piper's left hand and held it gently. "What happened?" Leo and Phoebe looked at one another. Phoebe, not having the energy or the want to lie, walked past Dan to go wait by the car. "Leo, what happened?" Dan tried again. He wrapped his arms around Piper and attempted to pick her up out of Leo's arms.
"Dan don't. I want Piper jostled as little as possible." Leo explained defensively.
"What happened to her?" Dan repeated positioning himself in front of Leo like a brick wall. Leo opened his mouth to speak, but Prue appeared at his side with the car keys.
"Dan, we don't have time to talk right now. We're taking Piper to the hospital, so please move out of the way!" Prue ordered gently. Dan looked hurt and moved aside. Leo, with no more thought to it, trampled over the fallen flowers out to the car. "Dan, I'll call you." Prue said and she too trod mindlessly over the ruined bouquet. Dan sighed and returned to his house as Phoebe opened the car door so that Leo could place Piper in the car.
"Can I sit in back with her?" Phoebe asked timidly, almost in a childlike manner. Prue nodded and Leo didn't say a word as Phoebe climbed into the vehicle. He carefully maneuvered Piper so that her head rested on Phoebe's lap. Prue got into the car and started it in silence, but as they backed out of the driveway, she stopped the car and lowered her head onto the steering wheel. Leo placed a hand on Prue's shoulders when they started to move up and down in uncontrollable sobs.
Wordlessly Leo got out of the car and walked to the other side where he picked Prue up and transferred her to the passenger's side. He took the wheel and again in silence they left. Leo drove mindlessly. He didn't know where he was going and he didn't care because everything he had to live for was dying.
"Let's go to the forest." Phoebe suddenly said from the back.
"What?" Leo turned to glance at her for a moment before returning to the road.
"Piper always enjoyed going out to the forest."
"She'll still enjoy it, Phoebe." Prue spoke for the first time since getting in the car. She looked straight ahead and wiped at her nose with a Kleenex from her purse angrily. "If she must die because of your mistakes then she will enjoy where she dies!" Prue growled.
"Prue, that's not fair!" Leo objected.
"Isn't it? You said yourself that Phoebe is being punished!" Prue shouted. In the back of the car, Phoebe started to cry and leaned over Piper.
"Did you ever stop to think that maybe there's more to this than meets the eye?!" Leo demanded, "Do you really think that the Elders can afford to kill the Charmed Ones over something as trivial as punishment for unharmful overindulgence!? Are you so selfish that you can just shoulder the blame onto Phoebe, Prue?! What about you? You admitted that you too have dabbled with magick for personal gain!" Prue began to sob again.
They drove in silence.
"Leo?" Phoebe's voice barely reached the front of the car.
"Hmm?"
"Did you really mean what you said a few minutes ago? I mean about this not really being my fault?" Phoebe's voice trembled as she spoke. Leo reached back to her with one hand and squeezed her hand when she took his.
"Phoebe, I do believe what I said. Moments before I arrived at your house the Elders contacted me and told me little more than you and your sisters were in trouble and that to regain my wings I must help you. I-" Leo explained
"Is that what this is to you? Just a step up? I thought you came because you remembered something and you just wanted to help us because you love us!" Phoebe exclaimed in outrage.
"I do love you! I love all of you, especially Piper, but they told me that if I help you then I could regain my wings. That I could regain my wings isn't what truly matters! Do you think I wouldn't have helped you if I didn't know that my wings are involved? Phoebe, I would die for you and your sisters." Leo said quietly.
"I'm sorry," Phoebe told him.
"How's Piper?" Leo asked suddenly.
"Breathing," She said sadly.
"What attacked her?"
"A creature with black wings," Phoebe reported.
"I've heard of that creature. It's an angel of sorts."
"An angel?" Phoebe repeated incredulously. "It didn't look like any angel I've ever seen!"
"Appearances can be deceiving," Leo said simply, remembering times when the Halliwells thought he was nothing more than geographically bad handyman. They drove in silence again and Leo noticed that they were no longer in the city. While he had paid attention to other cars on the road, he had not paid attention their surroundings. "Are we going anywhere specific?"
"No, just find someplace off the beaten path." Phoebe said tiredly.
Leo drove on. For hours they continued and Leo found a dirt road which they followed. When the sun barely stood above the horizon Leo sighed and pulled over.
"We're out of gas." Leo told them. "Do you want to walk on, or shall stay in the car?" He unbuckled his seat belt so he turn around to face the sisters easier. Phoebe looked out the window at the trees and placed her hand on the window.
"Where do you think we'll be safer?" She asked.
"I don't know," Leo said honestly. "While we're in the car someone else could orb in and while we walk we're open to attack too."
"Damned if you do, damned if you don't." Phoebe muttered.
"Let's walk around a bit." Prue said softly. "I'm so cold. Let's just walk for a while." She opened her door and got out of the car before either Leo or Phoebe could say anything. Leo got out after her and hurried to open the door so that Phoebe could give him Piper. They slid Piper out of the car and started to walk after Prue who had walked over a hill.
"Phoebe, I don't think Piper is going to last much longer." Said Leo.
"Oh," Phoebe replied. She walked off the road and into the forest.
"Where are you going?" Leo rushed after her.
"There's a fence over there, and I want to see what's past it." Phoebe explained. "There's a brown meadow, so maybe there's something else."
"What about Prue?"
"We'll catch up to her later." She promised and as they came to the fence she hopped it. Phoebe reached over so that Leo could hand her Piper while he climbed over the fence. He easily got over the fence and took Piper back into his arms.
"There's an apple tree." Leo said nodding with his head toward a tree.
"How do you know?" Phoebe started to walk toward the tree.
"Trust me," Leo smiled. They stopped at the base of the tall tree and looked it over. Phoebe looked off to the right and tapped Leo on the shoulder to get his attention. "A farm," Leo said, "It looks pretty deserted."
"If we left Piper here do you think that she would be found?" Phoebe asked.
"What? No," Leo responded.
"Good, then she'll rest in peace." Phoebe managed to make it to the end of the sentence before breaking into tears again. "I want to leave her here, Leo. Does that sound so bad? It's beautiful here!" Phoebe tried desperately to convince him.
"I understand, Phoebe." He answered and he set Piper down with her back to the apple tree. He caressed her cheek for a moment and leaned in to place one more kiss on her lips. "Always, Piper, always" Leo said and he unwrapped the towels from her wounds. He took the towels and a deep breath as he stood up. "I'll wait for you at the edge of the meadow." Leo walked away with tears in his eyes. Phoebe watched him go for a moment before kneeling down and hugging Piper.
"I don't know what to say, this is so unreal." Phoebe stopped a moment to gather herself. "Um, don't worry about Prue `cause I'll take care of her, and-and I'll make sure that we make up because I know that always meant a lot to you." She swallowed loudly. "I-I love you." Phoebe got up and started to walk away quickly, but she turned to look back once at her sister under the apple tree. She took in a deep breath and bit her lower lip before crying out. She spun around quickly and she ran to Leo who held her as they both cried for Piper. Phoebe found herself continuously looking back at Piper resting under the tree.
Above Piper she could see an owl sitting among the barren branches. She watched the owl fly out of the tree and land next to Piper, but the bird's actions did not alarm her. Phoebe just watched in curiosity as the owl hopped onto Piper's right leg and then, after a moment of resting, fly into the sky. Phoebe suddenly pulled away from Leo and climbed over the fence.
"We should go find Prue." She said and walked slowly away.
For hours Leo and Phoebe walked on, but they didn't come upon Prue until they reached a lake. The lake's water, deep and blue normally but slightly golden because of the position of the sun, formed small white waves as the wind blew over it. Prue sat on a large moss-covered rock looking out over the lake.
"Hi Prue," Phoebe said to her sister. Prue twisted around to look at her and she smiled. She motioned with her right hand for Phoebe to join her.
"It's beautiful here." Prue said and hugged Phoebe when she climbed onto the rock. Leo sat down on a smaller rock a ways away so that they could talk.
"How long have you been here?" Phoebe shivered as the wind cut through them again.
"I don't know, don't have my watch. I've always relied on Piper to be our timekeeper." Prue said and was silent for a moment. "I'm sorry about what I said in the car."
"I'm sorry too, Prue. I'm sorry for everything." Phoebe tightened her hug around Prue's waist. She laid her head and Prue's shoulder and Prue smiled before closing her eyes and going limp against her. "Prue? Are you all right?"
"No," Prue responded.
"What's wrong?" Phoebe turned around and shouted for Leo.
"I don't know; I'm so cold, Phoebe. I love you." Prue's words slurred together as she tried to speak rapidly.
"No, Prue, don't give up! I need you!" Phoebe begged as she looked her sister over for any sort of injury. Leo jumped up onto the rock and looked to Phoebe.
"What's wrong?"
"She just went limp against me!" Phoebe explained unhappily.
"You need me?" Prue asked Phoebe.
"More than you'll ever know!" Phoebe insisted and she tried to keep her tears at bay so that Prue would not become scared.
"Will you tell Piper that I love her?" Prue managed a tiny smile.
"She knows, Prue." Phoebe placed a kiss on Prue's forehead.
"Tell her again, okay?" Prue, gasping for breath, choked suddenly and Phoebe didn't know what to do.
"Leo?" Phoebe looked to his desperately.
"She's under an enchantment, Phoebe. There's nothing that I can do as a mortal."
"What can I do as a witch?"
"I don't know,"
"You're supposed to help me, dammit!" Phoebe screamed.
"I know," Leo said and his next action surprised Phoebe greatly. He walked away into the forest.
"Leo, wait!" Phoebe called after him, but he didn't. Prue stopped choking and looked up at Phoebe with wide eyes.
"Hold me, Phoebe," Prue whispered and she fought against her closing eyelids. Phoebe held her and in her angelic voice she sang Prue a love song called "The Water Is Wide." Prue allowed her eyes to shut and she smiled as Phoebe sang. When the song ended Prue didn't stir and Phoebe felt a greater sadness than before weighing her down. She laid Prue out on the rock and looked down at the rough lake waters only a few feet below them. Phoebe gave Prue one last glance before she dove off the rock into the chilly, freeing lake.
The water surrounded her and its freshness felt good even though the iciness bit at her. Phoebe surfaced and took a great breath. Then, without looking back, Phoebe started to swim. Tears forming yet again in her eyes, fingers and toes numbing, breathing heavily she looked around and discovered herself in the middle of the lake. She spun around in the water until she found the rock where she had left Prue, and she saw one owl and an eagle flying away from the rock.
Phoebe watched the birds fly over her head and she felt an unexplainable urge to follow them.
"Wait!" Phoebe called to the owl and the eagle. The birds looked down but they did not stop. Phoebe, tired and cold, took a deep breath and determinedly started after the owls. "Wait!" Phoebe cried angrily. She started to feel scared because the sun was sinking below the horizon quickly. Somewhere from the forest on the closest side of the lake Phoebe could hear the two owls hooting. At that moment, despite her own position in the lake, she decided that she would name the owl. "I will call the eagle Perdita because I like that name and it begins with a P. I shall call the owl Nadine because I don't believe that all hope has truly been lost." Phoebe said to herself breathlessly.
Then she felt the muddy bottom of the lake meet her feet. Phoebe smiled as she pulled herself closer to the edge. She grabbed at the reeds and long grass that were starting to appear as she neared the shore. Absently Phoebe wiped at her cheeks and she noted that the icy water had become red in color from the last rays of sunlight. Phoebe shivered as she dragged herself out of the water and she headed into the darkness that fell upon the land. Into the forest --
Phoebe woke up to the sound of an owl hooting. She felt the softness of one of the bird's chest feathers against her face and she couldn't help but smile.
"Nadine?" Phoebe asked as she opened her eyes. The yellow-eyed owl stood in front of her with a calm look on its face. The bird hooted softly and the sound comforted Phoebe, let her know that for the time being she was safe. An eagle chirped and Phoebe looked up to see another bird place a leaf over her legs. She saw leaves and feathers covering her legs and looked back at the birds. The second bird had no tail feathers. "Oh, Perdita," Phoebe whispered and she shivered in the early morning air.
Nadine suddenly hopped into the air and hooted agitatedly. Perdita tried to fly away, but her lack of tail feathers prevented her from doing so. Phoebe, getting up quickly, picked up Perdita and looked for Nadine. Nadine called out again and Phoebe saw her in a tree.
In a tree another creature observed her, a creature that had the ability to take shapes at will. The creature, hungry for power, had already attacked the two older Halliwells and been unsuccessful. The Elders had simply taken the sisters from the creature before it could steal their powers and their lives, but because the Elders had taken the two sisters, the youngest had no protection. The creature, taking the form of a large wolf, leapt out of the tree and followed after Phoebe as she followed after an owl.
"Nadine, where are you going?" Phoebe called good-naturedly. Perdita made small noises occasionally and kept glancing all about. Phoebe suddenly heard a snarl rip through the air. Her heart in her throat, she twirled around (nearly knocking Perdita from her arm in the process) and saw the shape-creature as the wolf. "Oh dear," Phoebe whispered. The wolf smiled cruelly and howled in triumph. It jumped at Phoebe and she tried to move away but tripped. The wolf's tongue dripped with saliva and its teeth glistened as it spread its paws to land, but an owl, Nadine, flew into it and knocked the wolf off course.
Leaping up from the heap, the wolf growled and bounded into the forest. Nadine, still laying on the ground, started to glow blue and her feathers retracted and she grew larger to become none other than Piper. "Oh my God!" Phoebe screamed and ran to Piper's side. She helped Piper to stand up and hugged her as tightly as she could. "Oh my God! I thought you were dead! I thought that I'd never see you again! What happened?!"
"Whoa! Whoa, Trigger!" Piper said with a laugh as she returned the hug. "It's good to see you too, Phoebe. Where Prue?"
"You mean you don't know?" Phoebe felt tears welling in her eyes.
"Don't know...?" Piper motioned for Phoebe to continue.
"Prue...Prue's dead!" Phoebe blurted. Piper laughed again and Phoebe's eyes grew wide with misunderstanding. "Why are you laughing?"
"Prue's not dead, Honey. I promise you that she's alive, just as an eagle." Piper bit her lower lip after she finished explaining and hid a smile.
"Perdita?" Phoebe asked incredulously.
"Yep, that would be her. I was Nadine." Piper responded. "The Elders made us into birds because they had saved us from death and we needed to earn our human bodies back, but I'll tell you more later. Right now we have a shapeshifter after us, and we have to help Prue get her body back." Piper walked away from Phoebe and looked around. "Prue, where are you?" She called and waited. A squawk came in response and Piper followed it to the eagle. Prue hooted and Piper nodded. "Yes, I know,"
"You can understand her?" Phoebe watched them with wide eyes.
"Yeah, I guess so," Piper said absently. "That shapeshifter is going to come after us again so we should come up with some sort of plan."
"How do we vanquish it?" Phoebe wondered.
"Well, I'm not exactly sure." Piper answered with a frown and a shrug. She didn't wait for Phoebe to answer anymore questions and reached to pick Prue up. With Prue in her arms, Piper started to walk off, but stopped when Prue hooted.
"What did she say?" Phoebe asked.
"There's a mouse by your foot." Piper pointed and Prue shrieked. Phoebe jumped as did the mouse and Prue dove from Piper's arm. She put her talons in front of her and grabbed the mouse. Piper turned away when Prue began to pull the mouse apart. "Oh my God," Piper said and paced around a bit.
"Gee, Prue," Phoebe murmured with wide eyes. Dropping the remains of the mouse, Prue cried out as her body burned blue and she became human once more. Piper continued to pace and mumbled to herself when Phoebe screamed and ran to Prue. "Oh, Prue, it's so good to see you again! I missed you so much!"
"I love you too, Phoebs!" Prue hugged her youngest sister. "Piper, come here." The middle Halliwell sister, looking a little green, joined the hug.
"I tackle a wolf and I return to my body. You tackle a mouse and you return to your body. Gee, that seems fair." Piper said jokingly.
"I don't know what happened; I guess my eagle instincts just took over! I dove at that mouse with the intent of eating it-!" Prue said in an amazed voice.
"Which you did," Piper interrupted.
"And, as I was saying, I think I just ate the shapeshifter!" Prue exclaimed. Piper and Phoebe stopped laughing.
"That's new." Phoebe said and they laughed again. "Hey, what was it like to fly? How come you guys always get to do all the cool stuff?"
"We nearly die and you ask us why we get to do all the cool stuff?" Piper smiled at Phoebe slyly. "Really, though, flying was fun, being poisoned was not."
"Yeah, enchantment spells really aren't a bucket of fun either." Prue said.
"We should probably get home. I need to see if P3 survived the night." Piper told them and she looked around. "Which way do we go?"
"I don't know, but I bet that Leo is looking for us if saw that Prue's body isn't on that rock." Phoebe said. Prue and Piper looked at one another uneasily.
"Dear, that wasn't Leo." Prue said.
"He was the shapeshifter too?!" Phoebe demanded incredulously. Then her face lighted up with a smile. "Hey, that means that the Elders really aren't angry at me doesn't it?!" Prue and Piper nodded. Phoebe's expression changed again, this time to a look of disgust. "Ugh, Piper, it kissed you!"
"Ewww! Really? God, you guys are right! I am a demon magnet!" Piper cried in despair. "I so glad that I don't remember anything beyond being in the kitchen with you guys!"
"While it is too bad that another demon kissed you, Piper, it still doesn't solve our problem of getting out of here." Prue said logically.
"Hey!" Piper suddenly shouted. "Hey! We could use some help please!"
"Piper, what are you doing?" Phoebe placed a hand on Piper's shoulder.
"Asking the Elders for help." Piper replied simply. "Hey!"
"My darlings," A voice behind the girls called. They turned around and Grams smiled back at them.
"Grams, are you a Whitelighter?" Phoebe asked.
"You needed a new one after Leo became mortal." Grams explained.
"Why did that shapeshifter attack us, Gram?" Piper placed a hand on Grams' shoulder timidly. Grams placed her hand on Piper's and smiled.
"Why does anything ever attack you, Piper?" She answered. "It tried to obtain your powers by killing you two off and driving Phoebe insane with guilt, but like most, it underestimated the Power of Three. Now come here, my darlings. I shall return you to the Manor."
"What about Piper's car?" Prue wondered.
"What about my car?" Piper gave Prue a strange look.
"Arrangements have been made," Grams promised. "Now close your eyes." The girls did as they were told and when they opened their, they found themselves in their attic.
"Wow," Phoebe said.
"Yeah," Prue agreed.
"Let's go outside you guys!" Piper said, "It's the dawn of a new day! Let's make the best of it! Let's live this day like it's our last!" She ran out of the attic and down the stairs.
"Wow," Phoebe repeated.
"Yeah," Prue agreed again and they walked down the stairs to find the front door open. They continued out the door and watched Piper prance around the front yard like a child. Phoebe and Prue laughed and joined their sister's dance happily.
~End
By E. Michelle Logan
Special thanks to Jessica N.
Disclaimer: I don't own Charmed.
Note: This is a work in progress (hopefully). Please feel free to offer constructive criticism of any sort. :)
Phoebe felt tears roll down her cheeks as she watched the sun sink down past the horizon. With its last rays the sun cast the lake red. Phoebe shivered as she pulled herself out of the icy water and looked ahead. Ahead darkness covered the land and concealed beasts and beauties and the filthy and the clean. Phoebe wiped tears away from her cheeks and she trudged through the mud and reeds so that she could take shelter from the open.
Somewhere in the distance an owl hooted and its single, plaintive call warned and told the world of Phoebe Halliwell. Phoebe called out to the owl, needing a companion, begging for forgiveness, wishing for remembrance. She shouted out to the owl which she had named Nadine because she needed a friend now because she had none and because the name Nadine meant "hope," and that was also what she needed.
"Please where are you, Nadine?" Phoebe cried both angrily and desperately. Phoebe waited in the darkness under an elm tree. Among the pine trees the elm tree seemed strange and the leaves that gathered around its knobby roots offered Phoebe a soft place to sit and stare at the stars and look for the moon. She looked up and saw a dark form fly above her. "Nadine," Phoebe whispered and she reached up toward the sky.
Phoebe looked at her hands that she had stretched up to the endless sky. They felt dirty and empty. In shame Phoebe pulled them down and buried them in the leaves. Then exhausted she lay down against the trunk of the bald tree and tried to use the leaves to cover herself.
At first Phoebe dreamt that the elm transformed into a leafy oak tree. The oak tree, with its massive and strong roots, grew around her and cradled and protected Phoebe like a mother would hold a sleeping child. Beautiful birds came to speak to her and then they would fly back to the Heavens that they had descended from. Two birds especially, a great horned owl named Nadine and an eagle named Perdita, came to talk with her.
For many years the oak tree grew around Phoebe in an eternal spring, and Phoebe herself never changed, never aged a year, a day, a moment. Then one year winter came in a sudden and blinding snow storm and all the birds flew away. One morning Phoebe woke up to discover that her strong and glorious oak tree had become a cypress tree. The pale gray tree stood in the center of lazy river and its green leaves grew as if spring had never ended. Phoebe became sad and she started to wonder where her sisters were, so kindly she asked if the cypress tree would release her because she missed Prue and Piper.
The tree changed into a gorgeous willow tree and the river below slowly receded until the tree merely stood nearby instead of in it. The willow, with its drooping branches, sadly released Phoebe and told her to look at its trunk because she should find a gift. When Phoebe looked down she saw a four leaf clover next to one of the willow's root. Phoebe gladly thanked the willow tree and she took the tiny clover into both her hands. The willow sighed in response and its once soft, green leaves fell to the ground yellow and brown in color.
When Phoebe woke she found herself laying in her bed tangled in her blankets. Sun shone through her window onto the floor and downstairs she could hear her sisters moving about. Quickly she got up and ran down the stairs where she saw Piper trying to brush the cat hair off the couch. Phoebe grabbed Piper and hugged her tightly.
"Good morning," Piper said. Phoebe just snuggled with her. "Hey, what's the deal?" Piper asked gently.
"I had a dream and I didn't know where you and Prue were." Phoebe explained. Piper worked her arms out of Phoebe's grip and she wrapped them around her younger sister and returned the hug. They held each other silently until Prue came out of the kitchen carrying one of her cameras. "Prue, please hold me." Phoebe whispered so that her sisters wouldn't hear her voice crack.
"Are you okay, Phoebs?" Prue asked with slight alarm in her voice. She, as asked, grabbed Piper and Phoebe in a hug.
"She had a nightmare, Prue." Piper said quietly.
"Don't worry, Phoebe; we're here for you." Prue insisted and Phoebe pulled away breaking up the hug.
"But in my dream you weren't." Phoebe sniffled sounding both betrayed and doubtful. She hugged herself and turned like she intended to go back up the stairs.
"But it was only a dream!" Prue reminded her slightly forcefully.
"Wait, you don't think it was a premonition, do you?" Piper asked and looked around nervously before taking a step closer to Phoebe. Phoebe turned back around still hugging herself.
"I don't know," Phoebe said honestly and wiped her eyes.
"All right, Phoebs, you and I will go check out the Book of Shadows for information on dreams. Piper, please make some tea and bring it up to us." Prue said and she led Phoebe toward the stairs. Piper nodded and headed to the kitchen. "Do you know what to look for?" Prue placed a supportive hand on Phoebe's shoulder as they climbed the stairs.
"There were lots of trees in my dream and talking birds." Phoebe said uncertainly. "I seemed to talk to two birds named Nadine and Perdita especially."
"What kinds of trees?" Prue opened the attic door for Phoebe. They walked over to the podium where the Book of Shadows sat. Prue, offering Phoebe a half smile, opened the book and started to flip through the pages.
"An elm, an oak, a cypress, and a willow tree appeared in my dream." Phoebe said. The sisters were silent for a moment as they looked.
"Someday I will make an index for this thing." Prue promised softly and Phoebe laughed. She smiled at Phoebe again, glad to hear her laugh. Prue opened her mouth to say something but the sound of glass shattering and Piper's shrill scream interrupted her.
"Piper!" Prue cried desperately and she ran out of the attic with Phoebe sprinting after her. They raced down the stairs and into the kitchen with fear in their eyes.
A human form with a pair of black wings leaned over Piper frozen in position. Mugs and their black kettle and little pieces of glass hung in the air and the kitchen window had been shattered. Piper panted nervously and clutched her left arm to her chest. Prue thoughtlessly threw the black-winged creature into a counter where it unfroze and took in the scene with its very human eyes. Prue noted that the only inhuman features it had were its fang-filled mouth and claw-covered fingers. The creatures growled angrily and it disappeared in a blue ball of light. Glass cracked loudly as Prue knelt down next to Piper.
"Phoebe, get me some towels!" Prue said as she took in her sister's injuries. Piper's arm had four claw marks along it and a large spot of blood was starting to appear on Piper's left pant leg just above her knee.
Phoebe ran to the laundry room and quickly searched for the towels. In a basket on top of the washer she found the needed items and turned back to head for the kitchen. She could hear Piper mumbling.
"P-prue, I love you."
"It's okay, Piper." Prue insisted anxiously.
"W-where's Ph-pheobe?"
"Don't worry, Piper." Prue murmured as she twisted around to see Phoebe run back in with two dark green towels in her hands.
"Here!" Phoebe said and she too knelt down in the glass next to Piper.
"Love you, Ph-pheobe." Piper stumbled over the words.
"I love you too, Honey." Phoebe managed a tiny smile for her fallen sister.
"You apply pressure to the wound on her leg while I apply pressure to her arm!" Prue ordered and she moved out of the way so that Phoebe could place the towel on the bloody spot on Piper's leg. Piper shut her eyes and whimpered softly. "It's okay, Sweetie." Prue said.
Then the mugs and the kettle and the glass pieces crashed to the ground causing all the sisters to jerk in surprise.
"Prue, did you see the way that monster disappeared?" Phoebe asked. Her voice shook as she spoke and she concentrated on the towel she held on Piper's leg.
"Yeah, why?" Prue lifted her towel off Piper's arm for a moment to look at the gashes and she started to wrap the towel around the arm carefully.
"It disappeared the way Leo always used before he became mortal." Phoebe said. The girls were silent again and there was a knock on the door. Prue, realizing that Phoebe was in no condition to answer the door, got up and hurried to answer it. She had only unlocked the door when it started to swing open and Leo ran in.
"Are you guys okay?" Sweat dripped down his face and he ran past Prue looking around frantically. He hurried into the kitchen where Prue could hear the glass from the window cracking under his feet. "Oh God, I'm too late!" Leo cried from the kitchen. Prue slammed the door shut and dashed into the kitchen.
"You're too late for what!?" Prue cried. Leo sat next to Piper gently stroking her long brown hair. Phoebe had her head down on Piper's lap and Prue could hear her sobbing. "She's not dead!" Prue shouted and she bit her lower lip to try to keep from crying as she placed her finger's against Piper's neck. A thin pulse beat against her fingers and Prue sighed. She turned to Leo, "What's going on?"
"I heard something about you guys and I wanted to warn you, but I came too late. I'm so sorry!" Leo sounded choked up.
"No, no, Piper's still alive!" Prue insisted.
"No, I mean that Phoebe's punishment has already begun." Leo told her sadly.
"My punishment?" Phoebe up looked from Piper's lap. Her face was red and unshed tears sat on the rims of her lower eyelids. "What have I done?"
"You've cast spells for personal gain." Leo answered.
"We've all done that!" Prue screamed angrily.
"Yes, but Phoebe the most, so now she must be punished." Leo refused to look into the sisters' eyes.
"If I'm being punished then why is Piper dying?" Phoebe shrieked.
"Because you care about Piper and to watch her die is the worst punishment."
"Hospital." Phoebe said suddenly, "We've got to get her to the hospital!"
"No, that would be the worst place to take her. Then she'll be in one place and they'll easily be able to finish her. Besides, there's nothing that modern medicine can do for Piper now." Leo leaned against Piper and kissed her cheek.
"This is a trick!" Phoebe shouted hysterically. "The Power of Three has to remain! The Charmed Ones must stay alive!" Prue moved over to Phoebe and hugged her tightly.
"The Elders may have found another way to keep the Power of Three alive even if the Charmed Ones aren't." Leo's voice sounded very tired.
"P-prue...Phoeb-b-b-be..." Piper spoke through a trembling jaw. "L-le-leo...I'm s-so-so-sorry." Her eyelids drooped and her head ducked forward slightly then backward. The rhythm continued and Prue squeezed Piper's hand.
"Leo, can you carry her out to the couch?" Prue asked. Leo nodded and silently took Piper's shivering body out to the living room. Prue followed him. Phoebe stood up from the kitchen and watched them walk away. As tears streamed down her face she looked up to the ceiling angrily.
"You once taught us that it is not our place to punish others, but to chose to help them! What makes it your place to punish us in such a cruel way?!" Phoebe shouted madly. "If you teach us to be forgiving then why are you so unforgiving!? What makes you so high and mighty that you can just take lives or keep them based on when you need them!? Damn you! Damn you all!" Prue rushed back into the kitchen and grabbed Phoebe in the tightest hug she could.
"Oh, Phoebs," Prue sobbed.
"Why are they killing her, Prue? Oh why?" Phoebe cried on Prue's shoulder and slowly they sank to the kitchen floor and cried together.
"Prue, Phoebe we should leave. The farther we go the lower the chance we have of being attacked." Leo stood in the doorway.
"Why? Can't the Elders track us?" Phoebe asked bitterly.
"Yes, but it's impossible to orb into a moving vehicle." Leo said. Phoebe and Prue slowly got up off of the floor together and walked to Leo.
"The Miata would probably be faster, but the Cherokee undoubtedly has more room." Prue said and she went to get Piper's keys. "Leo, would you carry Piper out to the car?" Leo silently walked over to the couch and knelt down next to Piper. He stroked her sweat-covered cheek and kissed her gently before picking her up.
"I'll get the door." Phoebe said and she ran open it. Outside the door stood Dan with a bouquet of orange gladioli, yellow daffodils, and yellow and orange striped carnations. "Dan!" Phoebe jumped in surprise.
"Is Piper okay?" Dan dropped his bouquet onto the ground and rushed to Leo and Piper's sides. He grabbed Piper's left hand and held it gently. "What happened?" Leo and Phoebe looked at one another. Phoebe, not having the energy or the want to lie, walked past Dan to go wait by the car. "Leo, what happened?" Dan tried again. He wrapped his arms around Piper and attempted to pick her up out of Leo's arms.
"Dan don't. I want Piper jostled as little as possible." Leo explained defensively.
"What happened to her?" Dan repeated positioning himself in front of Leo like a brick wall. Leo opened his mouth to speak, but Prue appeared at his side with the car keys.
"Dan, we don't have time to talk right now. We're taking Piper to the hospital, so please move out of the way!" Prue ordered gently. Dan looked hurt and moved aside. Leo, with no more thought to it, trampled over the fallen flowers out to the car. "Dan, I'll call you." Prue said and she too trod mindlessly over the ruined bouquet. Dan sighed and returned to his house as Phoebe opened the car door so that Leo could place Piper in the car.
"Can I sit in back with her?" Phoebe asked timidly, almost in a childlike manner. Prue nodded and Leo didn't say a word as Phoebe climbed into the vehicle. He carefully maneuvered Piper so that her head rested on Phoebe's lap. Prue got into the car and started it in silence, but as they backed out of the driveway, she stopped the car and lowered her head onto the steering wheel. Leo placed a hand on Prue's shoulders when they started to move up and down in uncontrollable sobs.
Wordlessly Leo got out of the car and walked to the other side where he picked Prue up and transferred her to the passenger's side. He took the wheel and again in silence they left. Leo drove mindlessly. He didn't know where he was going and he didn't care because everything he had to live for was dying.
"Let's go to the forest." Phoebe suddenly said from the back.
"What?" Leo turned to glance at her for a moment before returning to the road.
"Piper always enjoyed going out to the forest."
"She'll still enjoy it, Phoebe." Prue spoke for the first time since getting in the car. She looked straight ahead and wiped at her nose with a Kleenex from her purse angrily. "If she must die because of your mistakes then she will enjoy where she dies!" Prue growled.
"Prue, that's not fair!" Leo objected.
"Isn't it? You said yourself that Phoebe is being punished!" Prue shouted. In the back of the car, Phoebe started to cry and leaned over Piper.
"Did you ever stop to think that maybe there's more to this than meets the eye?!" Leo demanded, "Do you really think that the Elders can afford to kill the Charmed Ones over something as trivial as punishment for unharmful overindulgence!? Are you so selfish that you can just shoulder the blame onto Phoebe, Prue?! What about you? You admitted that you too have dabbled with magick for personal gain!" Prue began to sob again.
They drove in silence.
"Leo?" Phoebe's voice barely reached the front of the car.
"Hmm?"
"Did you really mean what you said a few minutes ago? I mean about this not really being my fault?" Phoebe's voice trembled as she spoke. Leo reached back to her with one hand and squeezed her hand when she took his.
"Phoebe, I do believe what I said. Moments before I arrived at your house the Elders contacted me and told me little more than you and your sisters were in trouble and that to regain my wings I must help you. I-" Leo explained
"Is that what this is to you? Just a step up? I thought you came because you remembered something and you just wanted to help us because you love us!" Phoebe exclaimed in outrage.
"I do love you! I love all of you, especially Piper, but they told me that if I help you then I could regain my wings. That I could regain my wings isn't what truly matters! Do you think I wouldn't have helped you if I didn't know that my wings are involved? Phoebe, I would die for you and your sisters." Leo said quietly.
"I'm sorry," Phoebe told him.
"How's Piper?" Leo asked suddenly.
"Breathing," She said sadly.
"What attacked her?"
"A creature with black wings," Phoebe reported.
"I've heard of that creature. It's an angel of sorts."
"An angel?" Phoebe repeated incredulously. "It didn't look like any angel I've ever seen!"
"Appearances can be deceiving," Leo said simply, remembering times when the Halliwells thought he was nothing more than geographically bad handyman. They drove in silence again and Leo noticed that they were no longer in the city. While he had paid attention to other cars on the road, he had not paid attention their surroundings. "Are we going anywhere specific?"
"No, just find someplace off the beaten path." Phoebe said tiredly.
Leo drove on. For hours they continued and Leo found a dirt road which they followed. When the sun barely stood above the horizon Leo sighed and pulled over.
"We're out of gas." Leo told them. "Do you want to walk on, or shall stay in the car?" He unbuckled his seat belt so he turn around to face the sisters easier. Phoebe looked out the window at the trees and placed her hand on the window.
"Where do you think we'll be safer?" She asked.
"I don't know," Leo said honestly. "While we're in the car someone else could orb in and while we walk we're open to attack too."
"Damned if you do, damned if you don't." Phoebe muttered.
"Let's walk around a bit." Prue said softly. "I'm so cold. Let's just walk for a while." She opened her door and got out of the car before either Leo or Phoebe could say anything. Leo got out after her and hurried to open the door so that Phoebe could give him Piper. They slid Piper out of the car and started to walk after Prue who had walked over a hill.
"Phoebe, I don't think Piper is going to last much longer." Said Leo.
"Oh," Phoebe replied. She walked off the road and into the forest.
"Where are you going?" Leo rushed after her.
"There's a fence over there, and I want to see what's past it." Phoebe explained. "There's a brown meadow, so maybe there's something else."
"What about Prue?"
"We'll catch up to her later." She promised and as they came to the fence she hopped it. Phoebe reached over so that Leo could hand her Piper while he climbed over the fence. He easily got over the fence and took Piper back into his arms.
"There's an apple tree." Leo said nodding with his head toward a tree.
"How do you know?" Phoebe started to walk toward the tree.
"Trust me," Leo smiled. They stopped at the base of the tall tree and looked it over. Phoebe looked off to the right and tapped Leo on the shoulder to get his attention. "A farm," Leo said, "It looks pretty deserted."
"If we left Piper here do you think that she would be found?" Phoebe asked.
"What? No," Leo responded.
"Good, then she'll rest in peace." Phoebe managed to make it to the end of the sentence before breaking into tears again. "I want to leave her here, Leo. Does that sound so bad? It's beautiful here!" Phoebe tried desperately to convince him.
"I understand, Phoebe." He answered and he set Piper down with her back to the apple tree. He caressed her cheek for a moment and leaned in to place one more kiss on her lips. "Always, Piper, always" Leo said and he unwrapped the towels from her wounds. He took the towels and a deep breath as he stood up. "I'll wait for you at the edge of the meadow." Leo walked away with tears in his eyes. Phoebe watched him go for a moment before kneeling down and hugging Piper.
"I don't know what to say, this is so unreal." Phoebe stopped a moment to gather herself. "Um, don't worry about Prue `cause I'll take care of her, and-and I'll make sure that we make up because I know that always meant a lot to you." She swallowed loudly. "I-I love you." Phoebe got up and started to walk away quickly, but she turned to look back once at her sister under the apple tree. She took in a deep breath and bit her lower lip before crying out. She spun around quickly and she ran to Leo who held her as they both cried for Piper. Phoebe found herself continuously looking back at Piper resting under the tree.
Above Piper she could see an owl sitting among the barren branches. She watched the owl fly out of the tree and land next to Piper, but the bird's actions did not alarm her. Phoebe just watched in curiosity as the owl hopped onto Piper's right leg and then, after a moment of resting, fly into the sky. Phoebe suddenly pulled away from Leo and climbed over the fence.
"We should go find Prue." She said and walked slowly away.
For hours Leo and Phoebe walked on, but they didn't come upon Prue until they reached a lake. The lake's water, deep and blue normally but slightly golden because of the position of the sun, formed small white waves as the wind blew over it. Prue sat on a large moss-covered rock looking out over the lake.
"Hi Prue," Phoebe said to her sister. Prue twisted around to look at her and she smiled. She motioned with her right hand for Phoebe to join her.
"It's beautiful here." Prue said and hugged Phoebe when she climbed onto the rock. Leo sat down on a smaller rock a ways away so that they could talk.
"How long have you been here?" Phoebe shivered as the wind cut through them again.
"I don't know, don't have my watch. I've always relied on Piper to be our timekeeper." Prue said and was silent for a moment. "I'm sorry about what I said in the car."
"I'm sorry too, Prue. I'm sorry for everything." Phoebe tightened her hug around Prue's waist. She laid her head and Prue's shoulder and Prue smiled before closing her eyes and going limp against her. "Prue? Are you all right?"
"No," Prue responded.
"What's wrong?" Phoebe turned around and shouted for Leo.
"I don't know; I'm so cold, Phoebe. I love you." Prue's words slurred together as she tried to speak rapidly.
"No, Prue, don't give up! I need you!" Phoebe begged as she looked her sister over for any sort of injury. Leo jumped up onto the rock and looked to Phoebe.
"What's wrong?"
"She just went limp against me!" Phoebe explained unhappily.
"You need me?" Prue asked Phoebe.
"More than you'll ever know!" Phoebe insisted and she tried to keep her tears at bay so that Prue would not become scared.
"Will you tell Piper that I love her?" Prue managed a tiny smile.
"She knows, Prue." Phoebe placed a kiss on Prue's forehead.
"Tell her again, okay?" Prue, gasping for breath, choked suddenly and Phoebe didn't know what to do.
"Leo?" Phoebe looked to his desperately.
"She's under an enchantment, Phoebe. There's nothing that I can do as a mortal."
"What can I do as a witch?"
"I don't know,"
"You're supposed to help me, dammit!" Phoebe screamed.
"I know," Leo said and his next action surprised Phoebe greatly. He walked away into the forest.
"Leo, wait!" Phoebe called after him, but he didn't. Prue stopped choking and looked up at Phoebe with wide eyes.
"Hold me, Phoebe," Prue whispered and she fought against her closing eyelids. Phoebe held her and in her angelic voice she sang Prue a love song called "The Water Is Wide." Prue allowed her eyes to shut and she smiled as Phoebe sang. When the song ended Prue didn't stir and Phoebe felt a greater sadness than before weighing her down. She laid Prue out on the rock and looked down at the rough lake waters only a few feet below them. Phoebe gave Prue one last glance before she dove off the rock into the chilly, freeing lake.
The water surrounded her and its freshness felt good even though the iciness bit at her. Phoebe surfaced and took a great breath. Then, without looking back, Phoebe started to swim. Tears forming yet again in her eyes, fingers and toes numbing, breathing heavily she looked around and discovered herself in the middle of the lake. She spun around in the water until she found the rock where she had left Prue, and she saw one owl and an eagle flying away from the rock.
Phoebe watched the birds fly over her head and she felt an unexplainable urge to follow them.
"Wait!" Phoebe called to the owl and the eagle. The birds looked down but they did not stop. Phoebe, tired and cold, took a deep breath and determinedly started after the owls. "Wait!" Phoebe cried angrily. She started to feel scared because the sun was sinking below the horizon quickly. Somewhere from the forest on the closest side of the lake Phoebe could hear the two owls hooting. At that moment, despite her own position in the lake, she decided that she would name the owl. "I will call the eagle Perdita because I like that name and it begins with a P. I shall call the owl Nadine because I don't believe that all hope has truly been lost." Phoebe said to herself breathlessly.
Then she felt the muddy bottom of the lake meet her feet. Phoebe smiled as she pulled herself closer to the edge. She grabbed at the reeds and long grass that were starting to appear as she neared the shore. Absently Phoebe wiped at her cheeks and she noted that the icy water had become red in color from the last rays of sunlight. Phoebe shivered as she dragged herself out of the water and she headed into the darkness that fell upon the land. Into the forest --
Phoebe woke up to the sound of an owl hooting. She felt the softness of one of the bird's chest feathers against her face and she couldn't help but smile.
"Nadine?" Phoebe asked as she opened her eyes. The yellow-eyed owl stood in front of her with a calm look on its face. The bird hooted softly and the sound comforted Phoebe, let her know that for the time being she was safe. An eagle chirped and Phoebe looked up to see another bird place a leaf over her legs. She saw leaves and feathers covering her legs and looked back at the birds. The second bird had no tail feathers. "Oh, Perdita," Phoebe whispered and she shivered in the early morning air.
Nadine suddenly hopped into the air and hooted agitatedly. Perdita tried to fly away, but her lack of tail feathers prevented her from doing so. Phoebe, getting up quickly, picked up Perdita and looked for Nadine. Nadine called out again and Phoebe saw her in a tree.
In a tree another creature observed her, a creature that had the ability to take shapes at will. The creature, hungry for power, had already attacked the two older Halliwells and been unsuccessful. The Elders had simply taken the sisters from the creature before it could steal their powers and their lives, but because the Elders had taken the two sisters, the youngest had no protection. The creature, taking the form of a large wolf, leapt out of the tree and followed after Phoebe as she followed after an owl.
"Nadine, where are you going?" Phoebe called good-naturedly. Perdita made small noises occasionally and kept glancing all about. Phoebe suddenly heard a snarl rip through the air. Her heart in her throat, she twirled around (nearly knocking Perdita from her arm in the process) and saw the shape-creature as the wolf. "Oh dear," Phoebe whispered. The wolf smiled cruelly and howled in triumph. It jumped at Phoebe and she tried to move away but tripped. The wolf's tongue dripped with saliva and its teeth glistened as it spread its paws to land, but an owl, Nadine, flew into it and knocked the wolf off course.
Leaping up from the heap, the wolf growled and bounded into the forest. Nadine, still laying on the ground, started to glow blue and her feathers retracted and she grew larger to become none other than Piper. "Oh my God!" Phoebe screamed and ran to Piper's side. She helped Piper to stand up and hugged her as tightly as she could. "Oh my God! I thought you were dead! I thought that I'd never see you again! What happened?!"
"Whoa! Whoa, Trigger!" Piper said with a laugh as she returned the hug. "It's good to see you too, Phoebe. Where Prue?"
"You mean you don't know?" Phoebe felt tears welling in her eyes.
"Don't know...?" Piper motioned for Phoebe to continue.
"Prue...Prue's dead!" Phoebe blurted. Piper laughed again and Phoebe's eyes grew wide with misunderstanding. "Why are you laughing?"
"Prue's not dead, Honey. I promise you that she's alive, just as an eagle." Piper bit her lower lip after she finished explaining and hid a smile.
"Perdita?" Phoebe asked incredulously.
"Yep, that would be her. I was Nadine." Piper responded. "The Elders made us into birds because they had saved us from death and we needed to earn our human bodies back, but I'll tell you more later. Right now we have a shapeshifter after us, and we have to help Prue get her body back." Piper walked away from Phoebe and looked around. "Prue, where are you?" She called and waited. A squawk came in response and Piper followed it to the eagle. Prue hooted and Piper nodded. "Yes, I know,"
"You can understand her?" Phoebe watched them with wide eyes.
"Yeah, I guess so," Piper said absently. "That shapeshifter is going to come after us again so we should come up with some sort of plan."
"How do we vanquish it?" Phoebe wondered.
"Well, I'm not exactly sure." Piper answered with a frown and a shrug. She didn't wait for Phoebe to answer anymore questions and reached to pick Prue up. With Prue in her arms, Piper started to walk off, but stopped when Prue hooted.
"What did she say?" Phoebe asked.
"There's a mouse by your foot." Piper pointed and Prue shrieked. Phoebe jumped as did the mouse and Prue dove from Piper's arm. She put her talons in front of her and grabbed the mouse. Piper turned away when Prue began to pull the mouse apart. "Oh my God," Piper said and paced around a bit.
"Gee, Prue," Phoebe murmured with wide eyes. Dropping the remains of the mouse, Prue cried out as her body burned blue and she became human once more. Piper continued to pace and mumbled to herself when Phoebe screamed and ran to Prue. "Oh, Prue, it's so good to see you again! I missed you so much!"
"I love you too, Phoebs!" Prue hugged her youngest sister. "Piper, come here." The middle Halliwell sister, looking a little green, joined the hug.
"I tackle a wolf and I return to my body. You tackle a mouse and you return to your body. Gee, that seems fair." Piper said jokingly.
"I don't know what happened; I guess my eagle instincts just took over! I dove at that mouse with the intent of eating it-!" Prue said in an amazed voice.
"Which you did," Piper interrupted.
"And, as I was saying, I think I just ate the shapeshifter!" Prue exclaimed. Piper and Phoebe stopped laughing.
"That's new." Phoebe said and they laughed again. "Hey, what was it like to fly? How come you guys always get to do all the cool stuff?"
"We nearly die and you ask us why we get to do all the cool stuff?" Piper smiled at Phoebe slyly. "Really, though, flying was fun, being poisoned was not."
"Yeah, enchantment spells really aren't a bucket of fun either." Prue said.
"We should probably get home. I need to see if P3 survived the night." Piper told them and she looked around. "Which way do we go?"
"I don't know, but I bet that Leo is looking for us if saw that Prue's body isn't on that rock." Phoebe said. Prue and Piper looked at one another uneasily.
"Dear, that wasn't Leo." Prue said.
"He was the shapeshifter too?!" Phoebe demanded incredulously. Then her face lighted up with a smile. "Hey, that means that the Elders really aren't angry at me doesn't it?!" Prue and Piper nodded. Phoebe's expression changed again, this time to a look of disgust. "Ugh, Piper, it kissed you!"
"Ewww! Really? God, you guys are right! I am a demon magnet!" Piper cried in despair. "I so glad that I don't remember anything beyond being in the kitchen with you guys!"
"While it is too bad that another demon kissed you, Piper, it still doesn't solve our problem of getting out of here." Prue said logically.
"Hey!" Piper suddenly shouted. "Hey! We could use some help please!"
"Piper, what are you doing?" Phoebe placed a hand on Piper's shoulder.
"Asking the Elders for help." Piper replied simply. "Hey!"
"My darlings," A voice behind the girls called. They turned around and Grams smiled back at them.
"Grams, are you a Whitelighter?" Phoebe asked.
"You needed a new one after Leo became mortal." Grams explained.
"Why did that shapeshifter attack us, Gram?" Piper placed a hand on Grams' shoulder timidly. Grams placed her hand on Piper's and smiled.
"Why does anything ever attack you, Piper?" She answered. "It tried to obtain your powers by killing you two off and driving Phoebe insane with guilt, but like most, it underestimated the Power of Three. Now come here, my darlings. I shall return you to the Manor."
"What about Piper's car?" Prue wondered.
"What about my car?" Piper gave Prue a strange look.
"Arrangements have been made," Grams promised. "Now close your eyes." The girls did as they were told and when they opened their, they found themselves in their attic.
"Wow," Phoebe said.
"Yeah," Prue agreed.
"Let's go outside you guys!" Piper said, "It's the dawn of a new day! Let's make the best of it! Let's live this day like it's our last!" She ran out of the attic and down the stairs.
"Wow," Phoebe repeated.
"Yeah," Prue agreed again and they walked down the stairs to find the front door open. They continued out the door and watched Piper prance around the front yard like a child. Phoebe and Prue laughed and joined their sister's dance happily.
~End