A/N: Not long now...
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Psychosis: Revelations
*
Paige and Phoebe sat at opposite ends of the room. Paige was staring into the fire, watching the flames bounce around the grate, carefree, their soul worry lurking only on when the fuel would run out. When they would have no food. When they had no energy. Bitterly, Paige watched the yellow-hot flames dance and cavort with one another. She had no energy left. It had all been sucked up before, then restored to her in forces and shadows and beams of hope. And then it had been taken away again. Paige was barely even there anymore. And all she could do was stare. Until the fire died. Until it burned out.
Across the room, sitting at the side of the couch on the floor with her back against the armrest, Phoebe silently wept for her lost love. Occasionally a sniffle would escape her throat and her ears would burn with embarrassment in case Paige overheard her, but eventually it became clear that Paige was oblivious to everything around her but the intoxicating, hynoptic flames. This suited Phoebe just fine, but she'd really rather be alone. Then again, to be alone, she'd have to be upstairs. With her.
The eldest of the Charmed Ones, or the componants thereof, hadn't left her room for three days. Hours after Phoebe and Paige placed a tray with a small meal outside her door, it was still there, untouched and cold. And there was nothing they could do. Hadn't they already exhausted their options? They'd tried coaxing her, they'd tried forcing her, and they'd almost succeeded with simply being her sisters, but in the end, Piper's insanity won through time and time again. Wasn't it just time to give up?
Reflected in Paige's eyes were the flames leaping around, crackling like the voices in her head, the ones telling her that she wasn't good enough, that she'd never be good enough, and that nobody would ever love her as much as-
The Matthews girl let out a loud sigh, just to drown out the next word. She didn't need to hear it to know just how true it was. In honesty, she wasn't sure if she could handle hearing it anymore. The sound of Phoebe crying in the corner was painful enough, and Paige wondered briefly why it was annoying her.
Eventually, she let the depths of the fire consume her once more, and descended back into oblivion.
Phoebe's quiet whimpering stopped somewhat abruptly, but that wasn't what alerted Paige to his presence. She felt him arrive, inside her. A tingling, or a buzzing, within her. She truly sensed him. But she didn't realise this until it didn't even matter anymore.
"She's upstairs."
It took Paige a few minutes to work out who'd said those two words. She barely even recognised her own voice anymore. But that didn't matter. Paige didn't feel like she would be talking ever again. There was no one worth talking to. And it wasn't even as if she was worth it either.
Six long weeks had passed since Leo had last called.
When Phoebe started crying again, Paige knew he had gone.
He served as a cold reminder that the world was still going on around them, and that there was still good. And that there was still evil. But what about the evils in the manor? The insidious, creeping, plaguing evil that had infected Piper and clung onto her ribcage until she could barely breathe? What about the evil that you can't battle?
Upstairs, Piper ignored the three soft knocks on her bedroom door. She was lying on her bed, pillows fluffed up behind her, staring at the wall. She never realised how interesting a wall could be. Well, perhaps not the wall itself, but what it liberated her to do. It was a blank canvas on which she could paint pictures with her thoughts. It was creativity and it was clear.
"Can I come in?" came a voice that Piper did not recognise.
And when he came in, Piper did not recognise the man who owned it either. She stared at him blankly, as if he could be no more than a stranger from the street. Leo could tell from her face the moment he walked in that she just had no idea who he was.
"Piper," he began, and sat gently on the bed. He could feel her body tense up at his closeness. Sighing, he turned and looked into her eyes. "I've come to tell you myself that, that it's over. The Elders hoped that with the Power of Three coming together to defeat Cole that you would stick together, but unfortunately your illness has proved much deeper than just a demonic spell."
Pausing, the whitelighter cast an eye dubiously over the wall, wondering why his wife appeared to find it so intriguing. Like the wall, his mind drew a blank.
Moistening his lips before facing her again, Leo continued. "I've been reassigned," he said airily, trying not to sound emotional, because she wouldn't understand why. "They think that you're off the demonic radar too, that the three of you will be safe from now on. That's pretty great huh? Just... just what you always wanted."
After a hefty silence, Piper relaxed her shoulders and leant back into the pillows. "Yes," she said curtly.
"I remember overhearing you say it so many times in the past, and the amount of times you came this close to giving it all up anyway... so... don't look at this as if it's a bad thing, you know?"
"Yes."
"Maybe you should look at it like it's a gift. Like now you have time to spend with your sisters. To reacquaint yourselves. To just, you know, get to know each other all over again, and for Paige, properly."
"Yes."
Leo swallowed tightly and stood up. Stooping down briefly, he paused before lightly kissing her forehead, wincing as she twitched under his touch, and then stepped back. "I have to go now," he said.
"Yes."
Silently, Leo made his way towards the door. Before he left, he looked over at her once more. "Goodbye Piper," he whispered, his voice thick and wavering. "I love you," he added tearfully under his breath. "With all my heart."
He looked up to the ceiling at Them, with burning, bittered eyes, clenching and baring his teeth in an animal snarl, enraged at this separation but all the same feeling so redundant that he knew not even magic could heal their relationship, or Piper's mentality, and orbed out.
When he finally left, Piper glanced over at the door with an expressionless face, and she knew the one thing most important in the world to her had just walked away.
*
A/N: Pretty sure next chapter is the second last, yo. Review me proud ;-) Flames accepted, since they concede with the title and general theme of this chapter, heh.
*
Psychosis: Revelations
*
Paige and Phoebe sat at opposite ends of the room. Paige was staring into the fire, watching the flames bounce around the grate, carefree, their soul worry lurking only on when the fuel would run out. When they would have no food. When they had no energy. Bitterly, Paige watched the yellow-hot flames dance and cavort with one another. She had no energy left. It had all been sucked up before, then restored to her in forces and shadows and beams of hope. And then it had been taken away again. Paige was barely even there anymore. And all she could do was stare. Until the fire died. Until it burned out.
Across the room, sitting at the side of the couch on the floor with her back against the armrest, Phoebe silently wept for her lost love. Occasionally a sniffle would escape her throat and her ears would burn with embarrassment in case Paige overheard her, but eventually it became clear that Paige was oblivious to everything around her but the intoxicating, hynoptic flames. This suited Phoebe just fine, but she'd really rather be alone. Then again, to be alone, she'd have to be upstairs. With her.
The eldest of the Charmed Ones, or the componants thereof, hadn't left her room for three days. Hours after Phoebe and Paige placed a tray with a small meal outside her door, it was still there, untouched and cold. And there was nothing they could do. Hadn't they already exhausted their options? They'd tried coaxing her, they'd tried forcing her, and they'd almost succeeded with simply being her sisters, but in the end, Piper's insanity won through time and time again. Wasn't it just time to give up?
Reflected in Paige's eyes were the flames leaping around, crackling like the voices in her head, the ones telling her that she wasn't good enough, that she'd never be good enough, and that nobody would ever love her as much as-
The Matthews girl let out a loud sigh, just to drown out the next word. She didn't need to hear it to know just how true it was. In honesty, she wasn't sure if she could handle hearing it anymore. The sound of Phoebe crying in the corner was painful enough, and Paige wondered briefly why it was annoying her.
Eventually, she let the depths of the fire consume her once more, and descended back into oblivion.
Phoebe's quiet whimpering stopped somewhat abruptly, but that wasn't what alerted Paige to his presence. She felt him arrive, inside her. A tingling, or a buzzing, within her. She truly sensed him. But she didn't realise this until it didn't even matter anymore.
"She's upstairs."
It took Paige a few minutes to work out who'd said those two words. She barely even recognised her own voice anymore. But that didn't matter. Paige didn't feel like she would be talking ever again. There was no one worth talking to. And it wasn't even as if she was worth it either.
Six long weeks had passed since Leo had last called.
When Phoebe started crying again, Paige knew he had gone.
He served as a cold reminder that the world was still going on around them, and that there was still good. And that there was still evil. But what about the evils in the manor? The insidious, creeping, plaguing evil that had infected Piper and clung onto her ribcage until she could barely breathe? What about the evil that you can't battle?
Upstairs, Piper ignored the three soft knocks on her bedroom door. She was lying on her bed, pillows fluffed up behind her, staring at the wall. She never realised how interesting a wall could be. Well, perhaps not the wall itself, but what it liberated her to do. It was a blank canvas on which she could paint pictures with her thoughts. It was creativity and it was clear.
"Can I come in?" came a voice that Piper did not recognise.
And when he came in, Piper did not recognise the man who owned it either. She stared at him blankly, as if he could be no more than a stranger from the street. Leo could tell from her face the moment he walked in that she just had no idea who he was.
"Piper," he began, and sat gently on the bed. He could feel her body tense up at his closeness. Sighing, he turned and looked into her eyes. "I've come to tell you myself that, that it's over. The Elders hoped that with the Power of Three coming together to defeat Cole that you would stick together, but unfortunately your illness has proved much deeper than just a demonic spell."
Pausing, the whitelighter cast an eye dubiously over the wall, wondering why his wife appeared to find it so intriguing. Like the wall, his mind drew a blank.
Moistening his lips before facing her again, Leo continued. "I've been reassigned," he said airily, trying not to sound emotional, because she wouldn't understand why. "They think that you're off the demonic radar too, that the three of you will be safe from now on. That's pretty great huh? Just... just what you always wanted."
After a hefty silence, Piper relaxed her shoulders and leant back into the pillows. "Yes," she said curtly.
"I remember overhearing you say it so many times in the past, and the amount of times you came this close to giving it all up anyway... so... don't look at this as if it's a bad thing, you know?"
"Yes."
"Maybe you should look at it like it's a gift. Like now you have time to spend with your sisters. To reacquaint yourselves. To just, you know, get to know each other all over again, and for Paige, properly."
"Yes."
Leo swallowed tightly and stood up. Stooping down briefly, he paused before lightly kissing her forehead, wincing as she twitched under his touch, and then stepped back. "I have to go now," he said.
"Yes."
Silently, Leo made his way towards the door. Before he left, he looked over at her once more. "Goodbye Piper," he whispered, his voice thick and wavering. "I love you," he added tearfully under his breath. "With all my heart."
He looked up to the ceiling at Them, with burning, bittered eyes, clenching and baring his teeth in an animal snarl, enraged at this separation but all the same feeling so redundant that he knew not even magic could heal their relationship, or Piper's mentality, and orbed out.
When he finally left, Piper glanced over at the door with an expressionless face, and she knew the one thing most important in the world to her had just walked away.
*
A/N: Pretty sure next chapter is the second last, yo. Review me proud ;-) Flames accepted, since they concede with the title and general theme of this chapter, heh.