... the last chapter is finished. This is the second last. Warning for, well, sick bits. And probably some bad language. Tut.
*
Psychosis: Revelations
*
Paige looked over at Phoebe, who was staring back. Her eyes looked wild and accusing. Paige was afraid. The two sisters had restrained Piper and strapped her down onto her bed. But now what? Piper was tearing viciously at her bindings like a ferocious beast and it really looked like there was no calming her.
Biting her tongue gently, Phoebe lay down beside Piper and sighed deeply. "I have something for you," she intoned sullenly. Piper seemed to abate, and the middle sister sat up. Reaching onto the floor, she brought up a cup of yoghurt and held it up with a grimace. "Peach," she mumbled. "Your favourite."
Instantly Piper's face spread into a wide, maniac grin. "Pheebsie!" she exclaimed. "Do you remember that time I poured-"
"Peach yoghurt down my back," Phoebe finished. "Yes, I do." She watched sadly as peals of laughter overtook her sister, and the little hope she had left slipped from her body like a cold rag. "Goodbye, Piper."
The eldest Halliwell turned and looked at Phoebe seriously. "Are you going somewhere?" she asked curiously.
Phoebe simply shook her head and then with a twist of her hand, undid one of the ropes around Piper's right wrist. "Untie her other hand," she instructed Paige, who did so wordlessly. Offering Piper the yoghurt, Phoebe watched as her sister shoveled the food into her mouth using only her fingers. "You like that?" she asked.
Nodding frantically, Piper sniffed airily and threw the empty cup at Paige. "Why did you tie me down?"
"Because you're crazy."
"I'm older than you."
"Yes. You are." Suddenly Phoebe felt heavy. She looked up at Paige and saw the tears of grief on her sister's face and knew she was feeling the same way. Loss swept through her soul, like an early undercurrent, and she broke down into tears. "I'm so sorry," she spluttered breathelessly. "I'm so sorry I couldn't help you."
For a moment Piper looked confused, but the expression absolved itself into a grimace. She looked at her sister Phoebe, then Paige, and scowled at them with spiteful hate. "Why couldn't you help me?" she said. "Why?"
Phoebe's head snapped up at the sudden tone, and clarification of Piper's voice. "Wh-what?"
Piper stared at her sister accusingly. "It's a simple question, Phoebe, and I'm asking for a simple answer! Why couldn't you help me? Why wouldn't you?"
Mouth agape, Phoebe sat up from her sunken position on the floor and tried to overcome her shock. "I-" she began, faltering.
"You what?"
"I..." Phoebe didn't know what to say. She had tried. She had done everything. She had done everything possible in the human and magical world to make Piper better. She had! Hadn't she...?
The youngest sister didn't know what to do with herself. Paige paced, wrung her hands, and chewed up her cheeks from the inside. She had never felt so out of place. Well, she had. Always the same people, the same situations, everything the same, the same old thing. She wished Prue had never died. She wished she had died instead. It would save her this torture.
Paige weighed eighty-seven pounds. She had punished herself physically, believing that the whole situation was her fault. She cut herself and exercised until her lungs felt red raw from the breathing, and even then she wouldn't stop. She looked like a skeleton, with sunken eyes and hollow cheeks. Her breasts had gotten smaller, her hips and shoulders stuck out oddly when she wore anything that clung to her. Nobody had noticed her drastic, tragic change in appearance.
"You left me," Piper spat, her eyes glinting venom. "You left me, just like the rest did."
"I didn't leave you, Piper!" Phoebe protested.
For a moment, Paige felt like jumping in and yelling at Phoebe too. Why was she trying to get out of her fair share of the blame? Was Phoebe leaving to Cole Paige's fault too? Paige thought about it. It was. It was her fault. She had attacked Phoebe and driven her out.
Piper leapt up and shoved Phoebe backwards, sprawling her sister over the floor. "You left me Phoebe, you left me and you'll do it again! I know you will! You're a fucking coward!"
"I'm the coward?" Phoebe screamed, covering her head quickly as Piper aimed a kick right at her face. She scrambled to her feet and pushed Piper onto the bed, before clambering on top of her and pinning her down. "Me? I'm the one who went totally insane on her family and took everybody else down with her? You just scuttled back into yourself, Piper, into your own fucked up world, and you didn't give a shit about just how much heartbreak you'd put us through, did you? All you wanted was to be in a place where Prue was alive! Didn't you? Tell me Piper, who's the real coward here?"
Suddenly Phoebe's hands were at Piper's throat, her thumbs digging in to the soft neck as she furiously strangled her sister. Her eyes were shining fire and her teeth bared in agony. When Piper began to choke, she let go and sat up, her hips resting on Piper's stomach. Tears began to slip down her cheeks.
As more started falling, she looked down at Piper mournfully. "Why didn't you take me with you, Piper?" she sobbed. "Why couldn't I come?"
"I'm sorry," Piper shuddered, regret filling her voice. "I'm so sorry."
"All I wanted... all I wanted was to see her again. And you, you got to see her all the damn time. When do I get to see her?"
"You will," Piper whispered. "You just have to believe..."
Paige hadn't realised she was sitting on the floor. She hadn't noticed the cold sweat on her brow. She didn't know that she hadn't blinked in the past five minutes. Her expression hadn't even flinched. She was horrified. They didn't even know she existed. More; they had taken her life from her, and they hadn't even acknowledged that she'd done anything at all. They'd taken everything, they'd killed her. And nothing.
She couldn't breathe.
She didn't want to.
With a quick movement, Paige had grabbed the protection athame they'd put in Piper's drawer in the beside table and held it poised, ready to plunge into her stomach. She wasn't subtle enough, however, and attention was quickly gained.
"Paige, no!" Phoebe screamed, and rolled off Piper, landing on the floor in utter panic.
But it was too late. Paige leapt backwards out of Phoebe's path. They weren't having a hold on her anymore. Oh no. Paige could stop it. She could make it all go away. It's time to make it go away Paige, it's time to make it leave. I know. I know. I'm doing it. Hurry up. I am! Do it! I will! I'm doing it!
With that, Paige thrust the athame towards herself and awaited the pain of the metal piercing flesh, organ, perhaps bone. Nothing came. When she opened her eyes a few moments later, the dagger was gone and Piper and Phoebe were staring at her, open-mouthed. "What happened?" she asked, bewildered.
Wordlessly, Phoebe pointed shakily at the athame lying on the other side of the room. "It just... flew out of your hands..."
Paige said nothing, trying to contemplate what had just happened. The sisters didn't notice Piper reaching down and picking up the blade. "How do you mean... flew?"
"I mean flew. One minute it was there, about to... and the next, it jumped out of your hands and flew over there. Like it was, telekine-" Phoebe cut herself off. It was impossible, telekinesis. None of them had that power. The only one who did was dead. There was no way that Prue could ever have, was there? She couldn't have, could she? Slowly, Phoebe's eyes connected with Paige's and they shared a moment of wonder.
Then Paige's eyes flickered past Phoebe and onto the bed. Immediately her face went blank; what she saw she couldn't react to. Phoebe saw this and spun around on the floor, her eyes widening in horror at the sight on the bed. "Piper..." she gurgled, barely able to whisper the word.
Sitting gleefully on the mattress, bouncing playfully, Piper Halliwell giggled as she held up her right wrist for all to see. Thick red blood swam down it, pouring from the severed artery, sliding down her skin and onto the bedsheets. "Look at it!" Piper sang. "Looooooooook!" She held up the glistening wet blade and dug it into her other wrist, barely even wincing. She felt no pain.
"Piper, oh my god," Phoebe cried. "Please!"
She got to her feet but Piper was too fast. Before she even knew what was happening, Piper was holding the athame at her own throat. "Uh uh, little sister. You have to wait your turn."
Phoebe was wretched again. "Piper," she pleaded, "you're bleeding."
The eldest giggled again. "It's warm," she said in a satisfied voice. "I like it." She grinned maniacally at Phoebe before cutting her throat. She died instantly, more blood spewing from the gaping wound in her neck. Her body flopped backwards onto the bed, contorted at a strange angle, and the knife slid from her grasp, lying calmly beside her head.
*
Psychosis: Revelations
*
Paige looked over at Phoebe, who was staring back. Her eyes looked wild and accusing. Paige was afraid. The two sisters had restrained Piper and strapped her down onto her bed. But now what? Piper was tearing viciously at her bindings like a ferocious beast and it really looked like there was no calming her.
Biting her tongue gently, Phoebe lay down beside Piper and sighed deeply. "I have something for you," she intoned sullenly. Piper seemed to abate, and the middle sister sat up. Reaching onto the floor, she brought up a cup of yoghurt and held it up with a grimace. "Peach," she mumbled. "Your favourite."
Instantly Piper's face spread into a wide, maniac grin. "Pheebsie!" she exclaimed. "Do you remember that time I poured-"
"Peach yoghurt down my back," Phoebe finished. "Yes, I do." She watched sadly as peals of laughter overtook her sister, and the little hope she had left slipped from her body like a cold rag. "Goodbye, Piper."
The eldest Halliwell turned and looked at Phoebe seriously. "Are you going somewhere?" she asked curiously.
Phoebe simply shook her head and then with a twist of her hand, undid one of the ropes around Piper's right wrist. "Untie her other hand," she instructed Paige, who did so wordlessly. Offering Piper the yoghurt, Phoebe watched as her sister shoveled the food into her mouth using only her fingers. "You like that?" she asked.
Nodding frantically, Piper sniffed airily and threw the empty cup at Paige. "Why did you tie me down?"
"Because you're crazy."
"I'm older than you."
"Yes. You are." Suddenly Phoebe felt heavy. She looked up at Paige and saw the tears of grief on her sister's face and knew she was feeling the same way. Loss swept through her soul, like an early undercurrent, and she broke down into tears. "I'm so sorry," she spluttered breathelessly. "I'm so sorry I couldn't help you."
For a moment Piper looked confused, but the expression absolved itself into a grimace. She looked at her sister Phoebe, then Paige, and scowled at them with spiteful hate. "Why couldn't you help me?" she said. "Why?"
Phoebe's head snapped up at the sudden tone, and clarification of Piper's voice. "Wh-what?"
Piper stared at her sister accusingly. "It's a simple question, Phoebe, and I'm asking for a simple answer! Why couldn't you help me? Why wouldn't you?"
Mouth agape, Phoebe sat up from her sunken position on the floor and tried to overcome her shock. "I-" she began, faltering.
"You what?"
"I..." Phoebe didn't know what to say. She had tried. She had done everything. She had done everything possible in the human and magical world to make Piper better. She had! Hadn't she...?
The youngest sister didn't know what to do with herself. Paige paced, wrung her hands, and chewed up her cheeks from the inside. She had never felt so out of place. Well, she had. Always the same people, the same situations, everything the same, the same old thing. She wished Prue had never died. She wished she had died instead. It would save her this torture.
Paige weighed eighty-seven pounds. She had punished herself physically, believing that the whole situation was her fault. She cut herself and exercised until her lungs felt red raw from the breathing, and even then she wouldn't stop. She looked like a skeleton, with sunken eyes and hollow cheeks. Her breasts had gotten smaller, her hips and shoulders stuck out oddly when she wore anything that clung to her. Nobody had noticed her drastic, tragic change in appearance.
"You left me," Piper spat, her eyes glinting venom. "You left me, just like the rest did."
"I didn't leave you, Piper!" Phoebe protested.
For a moment, Paige felt like jumping in and yelling at Phoebe too. Why was she trying to get out of her fair share of the blame? Was Phoebe leaving to Cole Paige's fault too? Paige thought about it. It was. It was her fault. She had attacked Phoebe and driven her out.
Piper leapt up and shoved Phoebe backwards, sprawling her sister over the floor. "You left me Phoebe, you left me and you'll do it again! I know you will! You're a fucking coward!"
"I'm the coward?" Phoebe screamed, covering her head quickly as Piper aimed a kick right at her face. She scrambled to her feet and pushed Piper onto the bed, before clambering on top of her and pinning her down. "Me? I'm the one who went totally insane on her family and took everybody else down with her? You just scuttled back into yourself, Piper, into your own fucked up world, and you didn't give a shit about just how much heartbreak you'd put us through, did you? All you wanted was to be in a place where Prue was alive! Didn't you? Tell me Piper, who's the real coward here?"
Suddenly Phoebe's hands were at Piper's throat, her thumbs digging in to the soft neck as she furiously strangled her sister. Her eyes were shining fire and her teeth bared in agony. When Piper began to choke, she let go and sat up, her hips resting on Piper's stomach. Tears began to slip down her cheeks.
As more started falling, she looked down at Piper mournfully. "Why didn't you take me with you, Piper?" she sobbed. "Why couldn't I come?"
"I'm sorry," Piper shuddered, regret filling her voice. "I'm so sorry."
"All I wanted... all I wanted was to see her again. And you, you got to see her all the damn time. When do I get to see her?"
"You will," Piper whispered. "You just have to believe..."
Paige hadn't realised she was sitting on the floor. She hadn't noticed the cold sweat on her brow. She didn't know that she hadn't blinked in the past five minutes. Her expression hadn't even flinched. She was horrified. They didn't even know she existed. More; they had taken her life from her, and they hadn't even acknowledged that she'd done anything at all. They'd taken everything, they'd killed her. And nothing.
She couldn't breathe.
She didn't want to.
With a quick movement, Paige had grabbed the protection athame they'd put in Piper's drawer in the beside table and held it poised, ready to plunge into her stomach. She wasn't subtle enough, however, and attention was quickly gained.
"Paige, no!" Phoebe screamed, and rolled off Piper, landing on the floor in utter panic.
But it was too late. Paige leapt backwards out of Phoebe's path. They weren't having a hold on her anymore. Oh no. Paige could stop it. She could make it all go away. It's time to make it go away Paige, it's time to make it leave. I know. I know. I'm doing it. Hurry up. I am! Do it! I will! I'm doing it!
With that, Paige thrust the athame towards herself and awaited the pain of the metal piercing flesh, organ, perhaps bone. Nothing came. When she opened her eyes a few moments later, the dagger was gone and Piper and Phoebe were staring at her, open-mouthed. "What happened?" she asked, bewildered.
Wordlessly, Phoebe pointed shakily at the athame lying on the other side of the room. "It just... flew out of your hands..."
Paige said nothing, trying to contemplate what had just happened. The sisters didn't notice Piper reaching down and picking up the blade. "How do you mean... flew?"
"I mean flew. One minute it was there, about to... and the next, it jumped out of your hands and flew over there. Like it was, telekine-" Phoebe cut herself off. It was impossible, telekinesis. None of them had that power. The only one who did was dead. There was no way that Prue could ever have, was there? She couldn't have, could she? Slowly, Phoebe's eyes connected with Paige's and they shared a moment of wonder.
Then Paige's eyes flickered past Phoebe and onto the bed. Immediately her face went blank; what she saw she couldn't react to. Phoebe saw this and spun around on the floor, her eyes widening in horror at the sight on the bed. "Piper..." she gurgled, barely able to whisper the word.
Sitting gleefully on the mattress, bouncing playfully, Piper Halliwell giggled as she held up her right wrist for all to see. Thick red blood swam down it, pouring from the severed artery, sliding down her skin and onto the bedsheets. "Look at it!" Piper sang. "Looooooooook!" She held up the glistening wet blade and dug it into her other wrist, barely even wincing. She felt no pain.
"Piper, oh my god," Phoebe cried. "Please!"
She got to her feet but Piper was too fast. Before she even knew what was happening, Piper was holding the athame at her own throat. "Uh uh, little sister. You have to wait your turn."
Phoebe was wretched again. "Piper," she pleaded, "you're bleeding."
The eldest giggled again. "It's warm," she said in a satisfied voice. "I like it." She grinned maniacally at Phoebe before cutting her throat. She died instantly, more blood spewing from the gaping wound in her neck. Her body flopped backwards onto the bed, contorted at a strange angle, and the knife slid from her grasp, lying calmly beside her head.