Phoebe slipped quietly out of bed, careful not to wake Paige. It was just before six, and she knew that her sister would need as much sleep as she could get.
The house seemed eerily quiet as Phoebe made her way down to the kitchen. Her sisters were almost always awake before she was, and the dark, silent house seemed almost unnatural to her now.
When Phoebe reached the kitchen, she was glad to see that Jill was already there. She was sitting at the table, gazing out through one of the broken windows and having a cup of coffee.
"Hi," Phoebe said.
Jill looked over at her. "Morning."
Phoebe poured a cup of coffee for herself and sat next to her.
"So, this is it. The big day," Jill said.
"Yeah," Phoebe said, sipping her coffee.
"Did you sleep?" Jill asked.
"Not much," Phoebe said. "Did you?"
"A little," Jill said. "But my mind was racing all night."
"Mine too," Phoebe said.
"So, what do you think of Wyatt's plan?" Jill asked.
"Well…" Phoebe hesitated.
"It's just you and me now, Phoebe," Jill said. "Please, just be honest. I need to talk to someone."
"It's dangerous," Phoebe said. "I don't know exactly how bad it is up there, but I know they'll have strong demons to protect the temple. Taking on one at a time was hard enough, and we won't even have a chance to use the Book of Shadows. The thing that scares me the most is that we're going in blind, and we really have no idea what to expect."
"I know what you mean," Jill said. "I'm still not sure that we're doing the right thing."
"But what else can we do?" Phoebe asked.
"I don't know…" Jill said, looking at the broken windows again. "Maybe we aren't meant to fix this. Maybe we're just supposed to protect as many innocents as we can down here."
"Do you really believe that?" Phoebe asked softly.
"It's what the whitelighters did," Jill said, looking back at Phoebe. "The other covens that tried to fight openly were wiped out. I don't think we should just let the same thing happen to us."
"Whitelighters aren't supposed to fight. We are."
"Phoebe," Jill said. "Everyone is so in love with this great plan to save the world, that they're not being realistic. There is no chance of getting through this alive, and if we try, we are not only throwing away our own lives, but the lives of all the innocents we might have saved."
"And what about all the innocents we might save if this works?" Phoebe asked.
"No one wants to save them more than I do, but there are times when you just can't save someone," Jill said. "Wyatt is a great guy, and one of the strongest witches I've ever met, but this plan is suicide."
"You don't mean that," Phoebe said. "If you didn't believe in Wyatt, you wouldn't have stayed in his coven this long."
"You don't know him the way I do," Jill said, and her gaze seemed to turn inward. "Wyatt's always had these huge plans, and when they work, it's incredible. But when they don't work it seems like the world comes crashing down around us. And this time, it actually will."
"I wish I could change your mind," Phoebe said. "It'll be a lot harder without you."
"I'll go," Jill said. "I've lost so much already. I don't want my brother to die without me. Beside, one witch working alone wouldn't live very long anyway."
"I'm sorry you feel that way," Phoebe said.
"Don't worry about it," Jill said. "I've accepted what's going to happen. And if by some miracle we do survive, I don't want to be sitting on the sidelines."
"I'm—" Phoebe stopped as Prue entered the kitchen. "Hi Prue."
"Hi." Prue smiled. "You're up early."
"Well, you know, busy day and everything," Phoebe said.
"I don't think I've ever seen you get up early by choice," Prue said.
"Hey, there's a first time for everything," Phoebe said.
"So what were you two talking about?" Prue asked.
"Not much," Jill said. "Just… what we're planning to do today."
"Oh," Prue said.
"We're just feeling a little nervous about it, that's all," Phoebe said.
"But we'll get over it," Jill said.
"We're all worried," Prue said. "That's nothing to be ashamed of."
"I know," Jill said. She quietly turned back to the window, and sipped her coffee.
Slowly, the other witches came down to the kitchen one by one. Maggie was the next to wake up, followed by Wyatt. Piper, Kevin, and Paige came in after them.
They shared coffee and a light breakfast. Conversation tended to veer away from what they intended to do later. Occasionally, someone would laugh about something, but levity didn't last long that day. They all had too much on their minds to let themselves relax.
Before long, they had all finished, and they knew they couldn't wait any longer. Prue and Wyatt looked at each other, and they seemed to be communicating something silently.
Wyatt stood up. "All right, it's time."
Slowly, the others stood up and gathered around Paige.
"Kevin," Jill said. "If you make it back, and I don't—"
"You're coming back, Jill," Kevin said. "Understand?"
"But if I don't," Jill said. "I left a letter for you. I wrote down some things I'd want to say to you, just in case."
"Fine, but you won't need it," Kevin said. He paused. "I left one for you, too. Just in case."
They smiled at each other, but there was sadness in their eyes.
Wyatt took a deep breath. "Paige, take us up."
Together, the witches orbed out. It took them only a moment to reach the former home of the whitelighters. White marble pillars and buildings rose out of the fog that surrounded them. Everything was silent and still.
Wyatt glanced around, and almost immediately saw the temple only a short distance away. "Let's move."
"Wait," Prue said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "This isn't right."
"We can't wait," Wyatt said, pulling his shoulder away.
"Hey! What are you doing here?"
The witches all turned to see the source of the voice.
"Chris!?" Phoebe said. "Where did you come from?"
"They left me here to watch over things because I can hide better than the other whitelighters," Chris said quickly. "Now, what's going on?"
"Better question: Where are all the demons that were supposed to be here?" Piper asked.
"I don't know," Chris said. "They all disappeared just before you showed up. It's probably a trap, so you'd better hurry and do whatever you came here to do before they come back."
"Something is definitely wrong with this picture," Prue insisted.
"You're right, I don't like this," Chris said. "But why did you come here at all? Don't you know how dangerous this place is now?"
"We're here for the power of the Greek gods," Wyatt said. "We want to use it against the Source."
"What? But that power—" Chris shook his head. "Wyatt, that kind of power could corrupt you, or anyone else who tries to use it."
"You'd rather spend the rest of eternity under the Source of All Evil?" Wyatt asked.
Chris sighed. "All right, I'll help you. Wyatt, you head for the temple. I know where the rest of you can hide."
"I don't know about this," Prue said. "I just can't stop thinking that we're walking right into whatever trap they've set up."
"Relax," Chris said. He started to walk behind them, ushering them towards the temple. When they weren't looking, he put his hand behind his back. A puff of smoke appeared in his palm, and a dark crystal took shape from the smoke. "I have a plan."
The house seemed eerily quiet as Phoebe made her way down to the kitchen. Her sisters were almost always awake before she was, and the dark, silent house seemed almost unnatural to her now.
When Phoebe reached the kitchen, she was glad to see that Jill was already there. She was sitting at the table, gazing out through one of the broken windows and having a cup of coffee.
"Hi," Phoebe said.
Jill looked over at her. "Morning."
Phoebe poured a cup of coffee for herself and sat next to her.
"So, this is it. The big day," Jill said.
"Yeah," Phoebe said, sipping her coffee.
"Did you sleep?" Jill asked.
"Not much," Phoebe said. "Did you?"
"A little," Jill said. "But my mind was racing all night."
"Mine too," Phoebe said.
"So, what do you think of Wyatt's plan?" Jill asked.
"Well…" Phoebe hesitated.
"It's just you and me now, Phoebe," Jill said. "Please, just be honest. I need to talk to someone."
"It's dangerous," Phoebe said. "I don't know exactly how bad it is up there, but I know they'll have strong demons to protect the temple. Taking on one at a time was hard enough, and we won't even have a chance to use the Book of Shadows. The thing that scares me the most is that we're going in blind, and we really have no idea what to expect."
"I know what you mean," Jill said. "I'm still not sure that we're doing the right thing."
"But what else can we do?" Phoebe asked.
"I don't know…" Jill said, looking at the broken windows again. "Maybe we aren't meant to fix this. Maybe we're just supposed to protect as many innocents as we can down here."
"Do you really believe that?" Phoebe asked softly.
"It's what the whitelighters did," Jill said, looking back at Phoebe. "The other covens that tried to fight openly were wiped out. I don't think we should just let the same thing happen to us."
"Whitelighters aren't supposed to fight. We are."
"Phoebe," Jill said. "Everyone is so in love with this great plan to save the world, that they're not being realistic. There is no chance of getting through this alive, and if we try, we are not only throwing away our own lives, but the lives of all the innocents we might have saved."
"And what about all the innocents we might save if this works?" Phoebe asked.
"No one wants to save them more than I do, but there are times when you just can't save someone," Jill said. "Wyatt is a great guy, and one of the strongest witches I've ever met, but this plan is suicide."
"You don't mean that," Phoebe said. "If you didn't believe in Wyatt, you wouldn't have stayed in his coven this long."
"You don't know him the way I do," Jill said, and her gaze seemed to turn inward. "Wyatt's always had these huge plans, and when they work, it's incredible. But when they don't work it seems like the world comes crashing down around us. And this time, it actually will."
"I wish I could change your mind," Phoebe said. "It'll be a lot harder without you."
"I'll go," Jill said. "I've lost so much already. I don't want my brother to die without me. Beside, one witch working alone wouldn't live very long anyway."
"I'm sorry you feel that way," Phoebe said.
"Don't worry about it," Jill said. "I've accepted what's going to happen. And if by some miracle we do survive, I don't want to be sitting on the sidelines."
"I'm—" Phoebe stopped as Prue entered the kitchen. "Hi Prue."
"Hi." Prue smiled. "You're up early."
"Well, you know, busy day and everything," Phoebe said.
"I don't think I've ever seen you get up early by choice," Prue said.
"Hey, there's a first time for everything," Phoebe said.
"So what were you two talking about?" Prue asked.
"Not much," Jill said. "Just… what we're planning to do today."
"Oh," Prue said.
"We're just feeling a little nervous about it, that's all," Phoebe said.
"But we'll get over it," Jill said.
"We're all worried," Prue said. "That's nothing to be ashamed of."
"I know," Jill said. She quietly turned back to the window, and sipped her coffee.
Slowly, the other witches came down to the kitchen one by one. Maggie was the next to wake up, followed by Wyatt. Piper, Kevin, and Paige came in after them.
They shared coffee and a light breakfast. Conversation tended to veer away from what they intended to do later. Occasionally, someone would laugh about something, but levity didn't last long that day. They all had too much on their minds to let themselves relax.
Before long, they had all finished, and they knew they couldn't wait any longer. Prue and Wyatt looked at each other, and they seemed to be communicating something silently.
Wyatt stood up. "All right, it's time."
Slowly, the others stood up and gathered around Paige.
"Kevin," Jill said. "If you make it back, and I don't—"
"You're coming back, Jill," Kevin said. "Understand?"
"But if I don't," Jill said. "I left a letter for you. I wrote down some things I'd want to say to you, just in case."
"Fine, but you won't need it," Kevin said. He paused. "I left one for you, too. Just in case."
They smiled at each other, but there was sadness in their eyes.
Wyatt took a deep breath. "Paige, take us up."
Together, the witches orbed out. It took them only a moment to reach the former home of the whitelighters. White marble pillars and buildings rose out of the fog that surrounded them. Everything was silent and still.
Wyatt glanced around, and almost immediately saw the temple only a short distance away. "Let's move."
"Wait," Prue said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "This isn't right."
"We can't wait," Wyatt said, pulling his shoulder away.
"Hey! What are you doing here?"
The witches all turned to see the source of the voice.
"Chris!?" Phoebe said. "Where did you come from?"
"They left me here to watch over things because I can hide better than the other whitelighters," Chris said quickly. "Now, what's going on?"
"Better question: Where are all the demons that were supposed to be here?" Piper asked.
"I don't know," Chris said. "They all disappeared just before you showed up. It's probably a trap, so you'd better hurry and do whatever you came here to do before they come back."
"Something is definitely wrong with this picture," Prue insisted.
"You're right, I don't like this," Chris said. "But why did you come here at all? Don't you know how dangerous this place is now?"
"We're here for the power of the Greek gods," Wyatt said. "We want to use it against the Source."
"What? But that power—" Chris shook his head. "Wyatt, that kind of power could corrupt you, or anyone else who tries to use it."
"You'd rather spend the rest of eternity under the Source of All Evil?" Wyatt asked.
Chris sighed. "All right, I'll help you. Wyatt, you head for the temple. I know where the rest of you can hide."
"I don't know about this," Prue said. "I just can't stop thinking that we're walking right into whatever trap they've set up."
"Relax," Chris said. He started to walk behind them, ushering them towards the temple. When they weren't looking, he put his hand behind his back. A puff of smoke appeared in his palm, and a dark crystal took shape from the smoke. "I have a plan."