"So they act on their own initiative." Said the Second Voice.
"It is good they know what they have to do." Said the Second Voice.
"However hard that may be." Added the Third Voice.
"But one of them has been taken by the renegade and the demon!" Cried the First Voice.
"That was not foreseen." Sighed the Second Voice
"But she is not without power on her own." Stated the Third Voice.
"She will manage until the other two liberate her… won't she?" Questioned the Second Voice.
"Do not doubt their independent power, they survived when the renegade turned before." Replied the First Voice.
"We shall see." Finished the Fourth Voice.
* * *
Piper patted the leader of the coven on the arm and walked over to Prue. "They seem to be ok, their whitelighter is coming to heal the injured."
Prue vacantly stared out across the lake. The moon hung in the deep purple sky, its bright luminescence reflecting on the rippling surface of the water.
"Prue? Are you listening to me?" Asked Piper softly, as she tapped her sister's arm.
Prue broke out of her reverie and gave Piper a weak smile. "Good, we can get back to The Manor and sort out what to do about Paige."
"I'll call for Leo, he can orb us back." Piper began, but was cut off by Prue holding up her hand.
"No, it's a warm night and I need time to think. Lets just walk." She started off along the path to the road.
Piper called out to her. "Prue, we don't have a lot of time. Every second may count."
Prue shouted back without turning. "Then you orb back with Leo and start working on it. I really need to be alone for a while."
As she watched Prue walking away Piper sighed. Prue was sturbborn; if she wanted to do this there would be no stopping her. And maybe she needed some time to herself. After all, she had been dead until yesterday night. Piper rubbed her eyes and called for Leo.
* * *
Prue walked slowly along the road, enjoying the musky night air and feeling of a warm breeze on her skin. She took a deep breath and shut her eyes. There was silence, apart from her footfalls. But not the silence she had experienced up there, it wasn't an oppressive, sterile silence. It was living and vibrant. The distant hum of traffic, the soft rustling of leaves as they moved in the warm zephyr, the occasional bark of a fox or chitters of rodents. She realised it wasn't silence she liked so much, just the lack of actual noise. Out of nowhere came the sudden rumble of thunder, followed soon after by a crack of lightning. Prue stared up at the sky and blinked as large droplets of water splashed down and began to soak her. She smiled and began to run.
* * *
Piper jumped at the sound of the storm and ran to the window. She looked out nervously and stared up at the flashing sky. "Prue's still not back. It's been nearly an hour, Leo."
He walked over and put his arms round her, resting his chin on the top of her head, as he looked outside. "Well she was walking back, and she needed time to herself. Give her another few minutes and then I'll go and orb after her."
She shut the curtain and turned round, dislodging his chin. "What are we going to do about Paige? Can you sense her?"
Leo sighed in a mildly frustrated way. "No, I still can't. Just like I couldn't the other ten times."
Piper scowled and pushed him off. "Don't take that kind of attitude with me. At least I am trying to think of a way to get her back. Just go and orb to Prue, she should have been back more than half an hour ago."
They both turned to sound of the door opened and shutting. Prue walked in and shook her hair. It clung to her face in dark streams. Water dripped into her eyes as she blinked and blew drops off the end of her nose. "Hey." She said simply, as she took of her jacket and dropped it casually next to the coat rack.
"Well, now you don't have to go get Prue. Where have you been?" Said Piper, in a clipped voice.
Prue began to walk towards the stairs. "Walking home, you know. Clearing my head and thinking." She got half way up the stairs and stopped, then turned to Piper. "Are you ok? You seem…"
"Annoyed? Gee I wonder why?" Interrupted Piper sarcastically. She turned round and stalked off into the kitchen.
Prue gave Leo a confused look and he shrugged. "You go and get dry, I'll see what's wrong with her." He told her. Prue nodded and walked the remainder of the way upstairs. He walked up to the kitchen door and looked round.
Piper was standing by the stove, throwing random ingredients into bubbling saucepans. She looked up and saw him. "Go away Leo. I'm busy." She said curtly.
"Piper what's the matter?" He asked softly, as he swung the door to and fro.
Piper gave him an incredulous look and put down a handful of pepper. "Are you stupid or just… no you must be stupid. What the hell do you think is wrong? One of my sisters is evil and has *stolen*, yes stolen, one of my other sisters. My remaining sibling is acting like she doesn't care. Once again everything is left to me and I don't know if I can handle it. Does that cover everything?" She finished giving Leo a scornful look.
He backed away and bumped into Prue. "She's all yours." He said in a relieved voice and orbed off.
"What was Leo in such a rush about?" She asked, as she walked over and sniffed the saucepan.
"He wanted to get away from me. But then what else is new? Everyone I care about leaves me, or turns evil or is killed. I must be cursed." Piper said in a choked voice.
"Piper! Don't say that. Nothing has been your fault, nothing at all." She reached over and stroked Piper's hair back.
Piper gave her a grateful smile and stirred the pot. "What do we do about Paige? I know they are going to do something to her, I just know it. And I had that premonition."
"I can Astral to her, I did it with Phoebe so I should be able to do it with her." Prue answered confidently.
"But you haven't got your powers in your Astral body, and one fireball dissolves it." Piper countered in a worried voice. "Astral you isn't any match to them."
"I can free Paige and then there'll be the two of us. Ok?" Argued Prue, as she crossed her arms in finality.
Piper sighed dejectedly. "I guess there's not other way. But I still don't think this will work."
"Sure it will. I'll make sure it does." Prue told her with a grin, as she astral projected to Paige.
* * *
Cole dumped Paige's unconscious body onto the floor and then walked over to a large black crystal. He waved his hand over it. The crystal began to give off a faint red glow and throbbed slowly.
Phoebe walked over and stroked the crystal, rubbing its smooth and polished surface. "What's this for? Another present for me?"
"It's a crystal made by darklighters. When activated it blocks a whitelighter's primary powers. And no, it's not a present for you." Cole said, as he turned and looked at Paige.
Phoebe followed his gaze and saw Paige. She wrinkled her nose in displeasure and languidly walked over to Paige. She tapped her sister's side with her foot and sighed. "Why did we even bring her with us? I liked it better with just you and me." She whined, pouting at Cole.
"Your sisters are trying to stop you, and me. We have Paige, one third of the power of three. We kill her and we kill the only power that can destroy us." He watched the pout fade from her lips.
Phoebe stared at Paige and then at Cole. She knew this was the only solution. They couldn't just shimmer away. Prue would be sure to hunt them down. Her mouth twisted with hate and she gave Cole a small nod.
He looked relieved and summoned an athame into his hand. "You might as well get her powers at the same time. After this is over we can go and kill us some whitelighters." His eyes burnt with a malevolent fervour.
Phoebe found herself attracted to it. She looked down on Paige and was reminded of Prue. Paige had the same self-righteous, do-gooder attitude as Prue. She even had the practically the same power as her. The last thing Phoebe wanted was any part in that. "No, I don't want her powers. I… just don't." Cole shrugged and tossed the athame next to the crystal. Phoebe went and stood next to him, readying herself for the most heinous of acts she was about to commit. She narrowed her eyes at Paige and shot a double beam of orange energy at her sister. It sped forwards; humming as it sliced through the air, ready to burn its way through anything.
Suddenly it stopped and reversed, angling slightly to the side. It hit Cole in the leg and sizzled through, searing his flesh. Phoebe screamed and abruptly stopped her barrage of energy.
Paige stopped squinting and shakily sat up as she smirked at Phoebe. "You can take away my whitelighter abilities but that doesn't make me any less of a witch." She flung up her hand and Phoebe and Cole were thrown against the wall. "Hello? Telekinesis, now I just have it pure. Like Prue." Paige added, putting extra emphasis on the word Prue.
Phoebe's features twisted and she glowered at Paige. She held out her hand and Paige began to shake. Soon she was lying on the floor again, arms and legs rigid. Phoebe's face was strained with effort. "Cole, kill her, quickly. She is resisting the paralysis, I can't hold her much longer."
Cole readied a fireball and threw it at Paige. She immediately shot into the air and hovered on her back, neatly dodging the fireball. She twisted in mid-air, until she was facing Phoebe and Cole. Her face was contorted with pain. "Thanks for… the… power, Phoebe. It's not…so bad…after all." She taunted, as she strained to move her arms and legs.
"Phoebe, try harder! I'll get her again." He threw another fireball at Paige.
She swung to the side and it exploded on the wall behind her. "It'll take more than that to take me out, demon boy." She suddenly dropped towards the ground, a panicked look on her face.
Cole threw another fireball. Paige dropped all the way onto the floor and it flew over her. "Damn it Phoebe! Can't you stop her from using her powers?" Cole shouted in anger, as he glared at Paige.
Paige squinted and knocked Cole back again. He hit the small wooden table, causing the crystal to fall to the floor.
It shattered, the red glow flaring out for second before dying down. The crystal shards were now dull and lacked lustre.
Phoebe stopped paralysing Paige and ran to Cole, who was lying semi-conscious on the floor, one hand stretched towards the crystal.
"It's been fun. But now I have to stop you from doing this kind of thing again. Bag!" She called for her bag. It orbed into her hand and she fumbled around in it for the binding potion. Her hand caught around it and she pulled it free, holding it up for Phoebe to see. A small slip of paper fell from the bag and drifted towards the ground. Paige looked at it and cursed. "Damn it! Power of three spell. You'll keep till next time."
Phoebe stroked Cole's face as she watched Paige bend for the spell and orb out. "Baby, are you ok? Cole, speak to me."
Cole coughed and clambered to his feet. He spat to the floor and ground it in, his foot scraping harshly on the broken crystal debris. "I'll get her, I'll make her pay. Whitelighter trash." He spat again and stalked out of the room. Phoebe meekly followed.
"It is good they know what they have to do." Said the Second Voice.
"However hard that may be." Added the Third Voice.
"But one of them has been taken by the renegade and the demon!" Cried the First Voice.
"That was not foreseen." Sighed the Second Voice
"But she is not without power on her own." Stated the Third Voice.
"She will manage until the other two liberate her… won't she?" Questioned the Second Voice.
"Do not doubt their independent power, they survived when the renegade turned before." Replied the First Voice.
"We shall see." Finished the Fourth Voice.
* * *
Piper patted the leader of the coven on the arm and walked over to Prue. "They seem to be ok, their whitelighter is coming to heal the injured."
Prue vacantly stared out across the lake. The moon hung in the deep purple sky, its bright luminescence reflecting on the rippling surface of the water.
"Prue? Are you listening to me?" Asked Piper softly, as she tapped her sister's arm.
Prue broke out of her reverie and gave Piper a weak smile. "Good, we can get back to The Manor and sort out what to do about Paige."
"I'll call for Leo, he can orb us back." Piper began, but was cut off by Prue holding up her hand.
"No, it's a warm night and I need time to think. Lets just walk." She started off along the path to the road.
Piper called out to her. "Prue, we don't have a lot of time. Every second may count."
Prue shouted back without turning. "Then you orb back with Leo and start working on it. I really need to be alone for a while."
As she watched Prue walking away Piper sighed. Prue was sturbborn; if she wanted to do this there would be no stopping her. And maybe she needed some time to herself. After all, she had been dead until yesterday night. Piper rubbed her eyes and called for Leo.
* * *
Prue walked slowly along the road, enjoying the musky night air and feeling of a warm breeze on her skin. She took a deep breath and shut her eyes. There was silence, apart from her footfalls. But not the silence she had experienced up there, it wasn't an oppressive, sterile silence. It was living and vibrant. The distant hum of traffic, the soft rustling of leaves as they moved in the warm zephyr, the occasional bark of a fox or chitters of rodents. She realised it wasn't silence she liked so much, just the lack of actual noise. Out of nowhere came the sudden rumble of thunder, followed soon after by a crack of lightning. Prue stared up at the sky and blinked as large droplets of water splashed down and began to soak her. She smiled and began to run.
* * *
Piper jumped at the sound of the storm and ran to the window. She looked out nervously and stared up at the flashing sky. "Prue's still not back. It's been nearly an hour, Leo."
He walked over and put his arms round her, resting his chin on the top of her head, as he looked outside. "Well she was walking back, and she needed time to herself. Give her another few minutes and then I'll go and orb after her."
She shut the curtain and turned round, dislodging his chin. "What are we going to do about Paige? Can you sense her?"
Leo sighed in a mildly frustrated way. "No, I still can't. Just like I couldn't the other ten times."
Piper scowled and pushed him off. "Don't take that kind of attitude with me. At least I am trying to think of a way to get her back. Just go and orb to Prue, she should have been back more than half an hour ago."
They both turned to sound of the door opened and shutting. Prue walked in and shook her hair. It clung to her face in dark streams. Water dripped into her eyes as she blinked and blew drops off the end of her nose. "Hey." She said simply, as she took of her jacket and dropped it casually next to the coat rack.
"Well, now you don't have to go get Prue. Where have you been?" Said Piper, in a clipped voice.
Prue began to walk towards the stairs. "Walking home, you know. Clearing my head and thinking." She got half way up the stairs and stopped, then turned to Piper. "Are you ok? You seem…"
"Annoyed? Gee I wonder why?" Interrupted Piper sarcastically. She turned round and stalked off into the kitchen.
Prue gave Leo a confused look and he shrugged. "You go and get dry, I'll see what's wrong with her." He told her. Prue nodded and walked the remainder of the way upstairs. He walked up to the kitchen door and looked round.
Piper was standing by the stove, throwing random ingredients into bubbling saucepans. She looked up and saw him. "Go away Leo. I'm busy." She said curtly.
"Piper what's the matter?" He asked softly, as he swung the door to and fro.
Piper gave him an incredulous look and put down a handful of pepper. "Are you stupid or just… no you must be stupid. What the hell do you think is wrong? One of my sisters is evil and has *stolen*, yes stolen, one of my other sisters. My remaining sibling is acting like she doesn't care. Once again everything is left to me and I don't know if I can handle it. Does that cover everything?" She finished giving Leo a scornful look.
He backed away and bumped into Prue. "She's all yours." He said in a relieved voice and orbed off.
"What was Leo in such a rush about?" She asked, as she walked over and sniffed the saucepan.
"He wanted to get away from me. But then what else is new? Everyone I care about leaves me, or turns evil or is killed. I must be cursed." Piper said in a choked voice.
"Piper! Don't say that. Nothing has been your fault, nothing at all." She reached over and stroked Piper's hair back.
Piper gave her a grateful smile and stirred the pot. "What do we do about Paige? I know they are going to do something to her, I just know it. And I had that premonition."
"I can Astral to her, I did it with Phoebe so I should be able to do it with her." Prue answered confidently.
"But you haven't got your powers in your Astral body, and one fireball dissolves it." Piper countered in a worried voice. "Astral you isn't any match to them."
"I can free Paige and then there'll be the two of us. Ok?" Argued Prue, as she crossed her arms in finality.
Piper sighed dejectedly. "I guess there's not other way. But I still don't think this will work."
"Sure it will. I'll make sure it does." Prue told her with a grin, as she astral projected to Paige.
* * *
Cole dumped Paige's unconscious body onto the floor and then walked over to a large black crystal. He waved his hand over it. The crystal began to give off a faint red glow and throbbed slowly.
Phoebe walked over and stroked the crystal, rubbing its smooth and polished surface. "What's this for? Another present for me?"
"It's a crystal made by darklighters. When activated it blocks a whitelighter's primary powers. And no, it's not a present for you." Cole said, as he turned and looked at Paige.
Phoebe followed his gaze and saw Paige. She wrinkled her nose in displeasure and languidly walked over to Paige. She tapped her sister's side with her foot and sighed. "Why did we even bring her with us? I liked it better with just you and me." She whined, pouting at Cole.
"Your sisters are trying to stop you, and me. We have Paige, one third of the power of three. We kill her and we kill the only power that can destroy us." He watched the pout fade from her lips.
Phoebe stared at Paige and then at Cole. She knew this was the only solution. They couldn't just shimmer away. Prue would be sure to hunt them down. Her mouth twisted with hate and she gave Cole a small nod.
He looked relieved and summoned an athame into his hand. "You might as well get her powers at the same time. After this is over we can go and kill us some whitelighters." His eyes burnt with a malevolent fervour.
Phoebe found herself attracted to it. She looked down on Paige and was reminded of Prue. Paige had the same self-righteous, do-gooder attitude as Prue. She even had the practically the same power as her. The last thing Phoebe wanted was any part in that. "No, I don't want her powers. I… just don't." Cole shrugged and tossed the athame next to the crystal. Phoebe went and stood next to him, readying herself for the most heinous of acts she was about to commit. She narrowed her eyes at Paige and shot a double beam of orange energy at her sister. It sped forwards; humming as it sliced through the air, ready to burn its way through anything.
Suddenly it stopped and reversed, angling slightly to the side. It hit Cole in the leg and sizzled through, searing his flesh. Phoebe screamed and abruptly stopped her barrage of energy.
Paige stopped squinting and shakily sat up as she smirked at Phoebe. "You can take away my whitelighter abilities but that doesn't make me any less of a witch." She flung up her hand and Phoebe and Cole were thrown against the wall. "Hello? Telekinesis, now I just have it pure. Like Prue." Paige added, putting extra emphasis on the word Prue.
Phoebe's features twisted and she glowered at Paige. She held out her hand and Paige began to shake. Soon she was lying on the floor again, arms and legs rigid. Phoebe's face was strained with effort. "Cole, kill her, quickly. She is resisting the paralysis, I can't hold her much longer."
Cole readied a fireball and threw it at Paige. She immediately shot into the air and hovered on her back, neatly dodging the fireball. She twisted in mid-air, until she was facing Phoebe and Cole. Her face was contorted with pain. "Thanks for… the… power, Phoebe. It's not…so bad…after all." She taunted, as she strained to move her arms and legs.
"Phoebe, try harder! I'll get her again." He threw another fireball at Paige.
She swung to the side and it exploded on the wall behind her. "It'll take more than that to take me out, demon boy." She suddenly dropped towards the ground, a panicked look on her face.
Cole threw another fireball. Paige dropped all the way onto the floor and it flew over her. "Damn it Phoebe! Can't you stop her from using her powers?" Cole shouted in anger, as he glared at Paige.
Paige squinted and knocked Cole back again. He hit the small wooden table, causing the crystal to fall to the floor.
It shattered, the red glow flaring out for second before dying down. The crystal shards were now dull and lacked lustre.
Phoebe stopped paralysing Paige and ran to Cole, who was lying semi-conscious on the floor, one hand stretched towards the crystal.
"It's been fun. But now I have to stop you from doing this kind of thing again. Bag!" She called for her bag. It orbed into her hand and she fumbled around in it for the binding potion. Her hand caught around it and she pulled it free, holding it up for Phoebe to see. A small slip of paper fell from the bag and drifted towards the ground. Paige looked at it and cursed. "Damn it! Power of three spell. You'll keep till next time."
Phoebe stroked Cole's face as she watched Paige bend for the spell and orb out. "Baby, are you ok? Cole, speak to me."
Cole coughed and clambered to his feet. He spat to the floor and ground it in, his foot scraping harshly on the broken crystal debris. "I'll get her, I'll make her pay. Whitelighter trash." He spat again and stalked out of the room. Phoebe meekly followed.
