CORRUPTED

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Chapter 21

-Attic, Manor-

"Prue! Prue! Dammit, wake up!" Phoebe cried in frustration, shaking her sister frantically in hopes of seeing Prue's midnight blue eyes. "Prue! Please, don't leave me. Wake up… I need you, Prue! Prue!" Phoebe continued to sob hysterically, ignoring Darryl's attempts to pull her away.

Cole sighed dejectedly, and pulled the Darklighter arrow out swiftly. He and Darryl proceeded to apply pressure onto the wound. After being a demon for over a century, Cole knew that Prue had no chances of survival.

Prue felt the throbbing pain work its way up her stomach and all over her body. Her blood spilled freely from severed veins, as the poison continued to overpower her. Each breath came out raspy, as Prue fought to inhale oxygen into her lungs. Her limbs hang weakly… limply. Prue knew her time was up. It didn't seem fair – she barely got time to spend with her sisters, and now, she is going to die for good. She never got to spend time with her gentle Piper. No, the only time they encountered resulted in disaster, with one side trying to kill the other.

"Ph-ph-phoebe…" Prue managed to whisper.

"Prue?" Came the choked reply.

"Don't… don't… lose Piper… p-p-please…" Prue gasped breathlessly, before succumbing to another coughing fit.

"Prue! You can't die on me! NO… Not again! Prue! We were going to have a second chance at life together! No, you can't leave me here all alone. Please… Prue! Prue!"

"You've… still got P-p-piper…"

"Actually, you've still got me too. But you're going to get Prue too."

Phoebe jerked her head up in surprise. "Paige??" She gasped incredulously. "Oh my god… what are you doing here?"

"Well, saving Prue, so scoot over," Paige said warmly, as she laid her hands over Prue's injury. The warm amber glow appeared, and Prue's wound began to seal itself. "It's great to finally meet you, Prue."

Prue sat up slowly, and smiled gently, before embracing both her sisters. "It's great to meet you too, Paige."

"You're alive!" Phoebe cried happily, feeling like the luckiest person in the world. Both her sisters are with her now, and she's safe inside Prue's arms. It would have been perfect if… perfect if Piper was here…

"Yeah, the Elders sent me down here as a Whitelighter. So guess what, Pheebs, you've got two Whitelighters now. Pretty damn special, huh?"

"Screw how many Whitelighters I have. You have no idea what it's like to hold you guys again. I thought you were dead! I thought I'd lost you forever. What I wouldn't give for all of us to be together again…" Phoebe said solemnly.

"Hey, we're going to get her back," Paige stated firmly.

"Paige, we've already tried everything. Every single spell, potion… no success. She's too powerful! Not to mention she's already countered every single thing we throw at her."

"Which is why you need to think outside of the box."

-Underworld-

"Four more days. Won't be long now. We're closer than ever before," Piper broadcasted to the demonic population of the Underworld. "And since we're progressing so well, it would be a shame to encounter the Charmed One right now."

"How are we going to deal with them, my Queen?"

"Simple. Capture me a Whitelighter, and we invade up there. The Elders are too selfish to worry about the witches when their own lives are at stake. They will insist on the protection of the Charmed One. Terminating the rest of the witches will be so much faster." Piper summoned a Darkligher, and sent him off to the task.

"Now, for a little visit to the other witches."

-Witch Trial Prisons-

Piper shimmered in to the prisons, provoking an uproar amongst the captured witches.

"Good evening."

"Traitor!" An angry witch shouted.

"Ah, you know who I am," Piper stated mockingly and turned to face the witch.

"You were a Charmed One. Prophesized to protect the world from evil, instead, you turn on your own kind!" She spat angrily.

"You've been doing research."

By now, the witches were already whispering amongst themselves, about their recent discovery.

"A Charmed One? Not possible!"

"Who's going to save us now…"

"We're going to die!"

"Good will always triumph over Evil," the witch said defiantly.

"Really, let's see about that," Piper snapped through gritted teeth, launching a large, yet low powered fireball at the witch. The witch convulsed under the intense heat, shrieking in pain. The witch's howling grew more intense as Piper increased the heat. "You are definitely on the winning side," Piper said sarcastically, before killing the witch with a final heat wave.

The other witches grew silent, their fear so great, Piper could feel it. But it only caused Piper to feel more confident and powerful. She enjoyed this feeling – provoking fear in others. It felt good. It felt… natural. 'NO! I can't. I'm a good witch…' a faint little voice in her head said. The effort was futile. 'I'm too strong now. The Evil power… the softness in her will not last for another day…'

"Traitor! You will burn in hell!" Another witch shouted.

"I'm already in hell," Piper replied evenly, before vanquishing every single witch in the prison.

"Looks like you have been found guilty without a trial."

-Manor-

"We are too slow… Piper's already killed hundreds of witches. By the rate she's going, there's not going to be anyone left in three days," Darryl informed the group of his findings after sneaking into the files with Cole.

"Not Piper, Darryl. The Source. Piper's not the one behind all of this. The Source is," Prue stated firmly.

"See, this is the problem," Cole interjected. "You guys are too wrapped up thinking about your sister while the world is dying out there. You've got no choice. I've seen what those powers could do, heck, I've experienced them. With Piper as a former Charmed One, you've got to put all your efforts in defeating her. You can't go soft. Not now." Despite all this, the Halliwells could see the pain in Cole's eyes. Piper was like a sister to him as well – she had been the most understanding back then about his and Phoebe's relationship. Nevertheless, he was a former demon. He knew how dangerous and corruptive power can be. Cole despised defeat, but he knew that this time, they cannot win Piper back.