Before Heaven
Summary: Prue was about to enter the afterlife when Piper cast the spell, yanking her out. However, instead of being sent back to earth, she was thrown into a world of lost souls, and now she can't get out.
A/N: I've been starting a lot of new fics lately, haven't I? Same rule still applies. The fics you think are best are the ones that'll get finished the quickest, so if you like a fic it's important to review. That, and it gives me a happy. :)
Disclaimer: I don't own Charmed. I still don't see why this bit of stating the blaringly obvious is really necessary, but I think my ass is officially covered now. No suing of the Cate, please.
****************
Prue woke up, and quickly pulled herself into a sitting position. She looked around, trying to figure out where she was. Nothing seemed familiar. Nothing was around her. As far as she could see in all directions, there was only the flat, grey, solid rock that she'd found herself lying on. It stretched out in a smooth, glassy plane that reminded her of the ocean, sans the waves. This was certainly not like the last place she'd come from.
She sighed, remembering that place. It had been beautiful, peaceful, utopic. It had been heaven. She'd been in heaven. She could still feel the warm glow of her skin, still see her mother and grandmother coming to greet her. And she could still hear the faint sound of a spell said by her sister, Piper, trying to reserruct her. She could still feel the pain of being pulled out of that paradise, only to be cast into this place, this empty, desolate place.
A few tears rolled down her face at the memory. She'd been so happy, and now she just felt afraid. She lay back down, her face pressed against the cold stone, and curled up, starting to cry.
She didn't know how long she'd been lying there when she heard footsteps. Prue stayed completely still, hardly daring to breathe, as she felt someone kneeling down behind her.
"Well," came a man's voice, "What do we have here?"
Prue turned her head slowly, and found herself looking into the deep, dark eyes of a man about her age. "Where am I?" she asked weakly.
"Well, I can tell you where you're not," he deflected. "You're not in Hell. That's where I thought I was, when I first got here, but I was wrong. This isn't Hell. But that's all I can tell you for now."
"Why?" she asked, pulling herself up. "Why can't you tell me more?"
"I don't know more, babe," he answered simply, helping her to her feet.
Prue looked him over, irritated at being called 'babe'. He didn't seem to notice. He stood, watching her, his tan skin appearing even darker under the inky-black sky. He had long, fine black hair, which was pulled back into a ponytail at the nape of his neck. His muscular arms were folded neatly across his chest. Overall, he reminded Prue of a bouncer at P3, her sister's nightclub. She shook her head, clearing it of the unexpected memory and the pang that went with it, and forced herself back to the present. "So who are you? And where the hell did you come from? I looked around before and I didn't see anything."
"You must not have looked very far," he replied. "If you keep walking around here, eventually you'll come to what I guess could be described as a city. And as for your other question, my name is Darius. And yours?"
"Prue," she said.
There was a short, awkward pause.
"Okay, then," Darius said, "We should probably start off. It's never good to hang around one place for too long."
Prue was about to ask why when a burst of fire shot up from the ground. Darius pulled her back just before it hit her. "What the hell was that?" she asked, her heart racing.
"That," he said, "Is why we need to move, now."
Prue nodded, and allowed him to take her hand and lead her off. She wasn't sure which direction they were going in, as by now everything just seemed to blur together. She wasn't even sure she could trust him; in fact, she highly doubted it. However, the urge to avoid being burnt alive won out, and she followed him.
After a while, they came to the city Darius had mentioned, although it didn't look anything like San Francisco. This place reminded Prue of the beautiful cities she'd read about in her history books, only this one had lost it's beauty. The buildings, though majestic, were gloomy and dark. The streets were cracked and uneven cobblestone. There wasn't a streetlight or even a candle in place anywhere; the only source of light was the few stars and the moon above.
"This must be amazing during the day," Prue ventured, but Darius shook his head sadly.
"There is no day. Our world stays this way, hour after hour, until you haven't a clue how many weeks or months or years have passed. I'm not even sure any time at all passes here."
Prue looked up at him, her eyes wide. "But then how did we get here? And how do we get out?"
He shrugged, looking away. "This place is a trap. People - souls - come here after they die, when they're too good for Hell but something's keeping them from Heaven. Nobody knows that it exists, and even if they did they wouldn't bother much with it. Once you're here, that's it. There is no escape, either you survive or you don't. That burst of flame that nearly killed you just now? It wasn't after your physical body. No, that's already gone. The one you have now is just a replica, a form you manifested when you entered this world. No, it wouldn't harm your body. What it wanted was your spirit."
Prue shuddered, his words haunting her. She knew now what it all came down to. She was going to escape this place, or die trying.
Summary: Prue was about to enter the afterlife when Piper cast the spell, yanking her out. However, instead of being sent back to earth, she was thrown into a world of lost souls, and now she can't get out.
A/N: I've been starting a lot of new fics lately, haven't I? Same rule still applies. The fics you think are best are the ones that'll get finished the quickest, so if you like a fic it's important to review. That, and it gives me a happy. :)
Disclaimer: I don't own Charmed. I still don't see why this bit of stating the blaringly obvious is really necessary, but I think my ass is officially covered now. No suing of the Cate, please.
****************
Prue woke up, and quickly pulled herself into a sitting position. She looked around, trying to figure out where she was. Nothing seemed familiar. Nothing was around her. As far as she could see in all directions, there was only the flat, grey, solid rock that she'd found herself lying on. It stretched out in a smooth, glassy plane that reminded her of the ocean, sans the waves. This was certainly not like the last place she'd come from.
She sighed, remembering that place. It had been beautiful, peaceful, utopic. It had been heaven. She'd been in heaven. She could still feel the warm glow of her skin, still see her mother and grandmother coming to greet her. And she could still hear the faint sound of a spell said by her sister, Piper, trying to reserruct her. She could still feel the pain of being pulled out of that paradise, only to be cast into this place, this empty, desolate place.
A few tears rolled down her face at the memory. She'd been so happy, and now she just felt afraid. She lay back down, her face pressed against the cold stone, and curled up, starting to cry.
She didn't know how long she'd been lying there when she heard footsteps. Prue stayed completely still, hardly daring to breathe, as she felt someone kneeling down behind her.
"Well," came a man's voice, "What do we have here?"
Prue turned her head slowly, and found herself looking into the deep, dark eyes of a man about her age. "Where am I?" she asked weakly.
"Well, I can tell you where you're not," he deflected. "You're not in Hell. That's where I thought I was, when I first got here, but I was wrong. This isn't Hell. But that's all I can tell you for now."
"Why?" she asked, pulling herself up. "Why can't you tell me more?"
"I don't know more, babe," he answered simply, helping her to her feet.
Prue looked him over, irritated at being called 'babe'. He didn't seem to notice. He stood, watching her, his tan skin appearing even darker under the inky-black sky. He had long, fine black hair, which was pulled back into a ponytail at the nape of his neck. His muscular arms were folded neatly across his chest. Overall, he reminded Prue of a bouncer at P3, her sister's nightclub. She shook her head, clearing it of the unexpected memory and the pang that went with it, and forced herself back to the present. "So who are you? And where the hell did you come from? I looked around before and I didn't see anything."
"You must not have looked very far," he replied. "If you keep walking around here, eventually you'll come to what I guess could be described as a city. And as for your other question, my name is Darius. And yours?"
"Prue," she said.
There was a short, awkward pause.
"Okay, then," Darius said, "We should probably start off. It's never good to hang around one place for too long."
Prue was about to ask why when a burst of fire shot up from the ground. Darius pulled her back just before it hit her. "What the hell was that?" she asked, her heart racing.
"That," he said, "Is why we need to move, now."
Prue nodded, and allowed him to take her hand and lead her off. She wasn't sure which direction they were going in, as by now everything just seemed to blur together. She wasn't even sure she could trust him; in fact, she highly doubted it. However, the urge to avoid being burnt alive won out, and she followed him.
After a while, they came to the city Darius had mentioned, although it didn't look anything like San Francisco. This place reminded Prue of the beautiful cities she'd read about in her history books, only this one had lost it's beauty. The buildings, though majestic, were gloomy and dark. The streets were cracked and uneven cobblestone. There wasn't a streetlight or even a candle in place anywhere; the only source of light was the few stars and the moon above.
"This must be amazing during the day," Prue ventured, but Darius shook his head sadly.
"There is no day. Our world stays this way, hour after hour, until you haven't a clue how many weeks or months or years have passed. I'm not even sure any time at all passes here."
Prue looked up at him, her eyes wide. "But then how did we get here? And how do we get out?"
He shrugged, looking away. "This place is a trap. People - souls - come here after they die, when they're too good for Hell but something's keeping them from Heaven. Nobody knows that it exists, and even if they did they wouldn't bother much with it. Once you're here, that's it. There is no escape, either you survive or you don't. That burst of flame that nearly killed you just now? It wasn't after your physical body. No, that's already gone. The one you have now is just a replica, a form you manifested when you entered this world. No, it wouldn't harm your body. What it wanted was your spirit."
Prue shuddered, his words haunting her. She knew now what it all came down to. She was going to escape this place, or die trying.