CORRUPTED

Note: I PASSED MY ROAD TEST!!! Okay, sorry. I'm just VERY excited about that.

Whoa… I was just looking at what I wrote the last chapter, and I saw all these weird symbols in place of where the quotation marks should be. Does anyone know how to fix it?

Wanabepiper: You haven't seen SICKO yet… haha. Thanks for the review!

Piperperson: Damn, I could just hug you. You're always so fast to review. Thanks so much for the support.

Charmed Fanatic: Oh my god… that's the longest review I have ever seen. You have no idea how much it means to me, to know that someone is willing to spend so much time on a review to comment on my writing. Thank you so much.

Chapter 20

-Manor-

Inspector Morris frowned when Prue filled him in on the latest events. True, he had noticed something different about the SFPD when he got back from vacation, but he never expected something like this.

"So, you're saying that we're dealing with a modern day witch trial?" He asked incredulously, somewhat doubting the information.

"Pretty much so. Except that this is definitely going to be much worse than Salem, that's for sure," Phoebe stated.

"How did this happen?" Darryl asked.

"Piper picked up my demonic powers after Paige stripped me of them. And after Prue's death, it's pretty reasonable to say that Piper's the most powerful good witch out there. The evil power just made her stronger," Cole explained as he walked into the manor.

"Cole!" Phoebe cried in surprise, feeling her anger rise. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to help, Phoebe. No offence, but the Power of Three couldn't vanquish me. Now that you're left with the power of one, your odds of vanquishing the Source is pretty much nonexistent. Don't forget, she's also a Charmed One."

"Well, I wonder how she got those powers in the first place!" Phoebe retorted agitatedly.

"I had no choice. I was afraid I might hurt someone by accident. I had to get rid of those powers. I just had no idea Piper would walk in right then," Cole said calmly.

"Don't make excuses for yourself, Cole."

"It wasn't me who suggested anyways. It was Paige."

"Alright, you two, knock it off. We have more important issues to deal with at the current moment. You can argue after this catastrophe is resolved," Prue said firmly.

"Whoa… since when did you turn into the middle sister?" Phoebe prodded with a laugh.

"Since you guys forced me to. But seriously, Cole's right. Piper's too powerful for you to take down alone. You're going to need all the help you can get," Prue rationalized.

"Great. We are such a screwed up team. We've got a witch with pathetic powers, an ex-demon, a dead person, and a cop."

"Don't think so pessimistically, Phoebe. We've handled lots of hopeless situations before…" Prue said encouragingly.

"Yeah, against other demons. Not against our own sister."

-Underworld-

"I'm glad to see that the plan is going so smoothly. At the rate witches are being killed off, we'll be able to dominate from above in less than a week," Piper announced to the demonic creatures of the Underworld. "No one can stop us now."

'No one but the Charmed One…' Piper thought, knowing full well that her sisters were plotting against her. She really wished that they could see from her point of view. That way, it will prevent further complications from occurring, and she would not have to kill them. Paige's death affected her dramatically. It is difficult to concentrate on destroying good. Something seemed to keep holding her back, preventing her from physically hurting someone. The feeling becomes weaker and weaker as the days go on, but it is still there. Nevertheless, Piper had come too far to lose everything due to some underlying compassion. She may not be able to take out her sisters now, but who says that she cannot a week from now? By then, the Underworld would, no, WILL be unstoppable. And she, Piper Halliwell, would have accomplished what no other evil could throughout the history of time. Killing her sisters could wait though. She has another plan in mind.

-Attic, Manor-

Prue flipped through the Book of Shadows, scanning each page carefully. None of the spells and potions used had managed to strip Piper of her demonic powers. Even though Piper seemed to be weakening, the evil powers are still inside of her. Prue did not wish to vanquish her younger sister, but if all else fails, she has no choice but to do so. The Elders have already started to push Prue into destroying Piper, telling her that Piper had no chances of becoming good again. Too many witches and innocents have died already. Too many family broken apart. All because of one person. Prue knew that she could stall no longer than necessary, for the Elders have estimated that Evil will rein in less than six days.

All these lives… all the loss… just because she couldn't kill her own sister. What about some helpless infant without a mother? What about other sisters who lost their own siblings? No, she cannot be so selfish.

"Prue, it's no use. Piper probably countered every single spell and potion already. For some reason, she is still able to touch the Book of Shadows. I'm certain that she didn't leave it alone after all these times. She is always one step ahead of us," Phoebe protested, throwing her pen down in frustration.

Darryl and Cole looked grim, for even they know that the situation seemed hopeless.

"You got that right, Pheebs," Piper said coldly as she shimmered into the attic. "It's hopeless. Just give up, and I will spare your lives."

"We're not going down without a fight," Phoebe replied defiantly.

"Your choice. Except that this time, I will not hesitate to kill you."

Prue narrowed her eyes to force a telekinetic blast at Piper, but Piper was too quick for her. Piper shimmered behind Prue and shot a darklighter arrow into Prue's stomach. Prue looked at Piper sorrowfully, with tears running down her face. She wasn't crying because of the pain. No, Prue never cried because of physical injuries, no matter how excruciating it is. Prue is crying because the sister she loved most just tried to kill her with her own hands. No words were spoken between the two of them, as they stared into each others eye intensely. Piper could feel the compassion and love pour right out of Prue's gaze, and she felt her own icy eyes melt. Something wet ran down her cheeks. What was that? Tears! She was actually crying…

Phoebe stared in shock when Piper impaled Prue with the darkligher arrow. No! She cannot lose her sister just when she got her back. Not again. Phoebe loved all her sisters, especially Piper. But Piper has hurt Phoebe more than Phoebe could handle. Piper took away every single one of Phoebe's few remaining loved ones without second though.

Screaming in rage, Phoebe dove for Darryl's gun and yanked it out of the holster. Before anyone could stop her, Phoebe fired a shot at Piper.

Piper felt a sharp pain from her stomach. She glanced down and saw her bloodied hands and shirt. A slight wave of nausea caused her to fall forwards onto Prue, who caught her in open arms. Prue's hands were now, stained with blood, just like what happened when the crazy witch wannabe shot Piper a few years ago.

"Prue…" Piper whispered, feeling a slight smile tug at the corner of her lips. Unfortunately, this touching moment was brought to an abrupt end when Piper's wound sealed. Her eyes, growing emotionless once again. Without another word, Piper shimmered out.

Prue then, collapsed and slumped into unconsciousness. Death was near.