ACT IV

The demons continued to inch their way closer to the sisters.

"Well, lookee here," one demon remarked. "We got ourselves some witches."

Another demon sniffed the air. "Not just any witches," he replied. "The Charmed Ones." Both demons grinned wickedly.

"What do we do now?" Paige whispered, terrified. Piper lifted her hands as in trying to blow them up, but nothing was happening.

"Piper, blow them up!" Phoebe ordered.

"I'm trying!" she replied in frustration, but still nothing was happening. Piper tried again and this time a few blew up. There were still about fifteen demons left, though.

"My power isn't working on all of them," Piper told Paige and Phoebe.

"Take my hand," Paige ordered. "I'll orb us out of here."

"We can't," Piper replied. "We need to get Kevin's things back." Just then, the demon closest to them started to conjure up a fireball.

"Piper, are you crazy?!" Paige asked. "They are going to kill us. We can't take them all!"

"Paige, orb us back into the bedroom." The sisters took each other's hands. "Hurry!" Phoebe said as the demon started to throw the fireball at them.

Paige orbed them back into the bedroom just as the fireball missed them. Phoebe ran to lock the door.

"We have to put something against it," Phoebe told them. She looked around for something and then saw her old dresser. "Come on! Let's move this."

All three of the sisters helped to push the dresser against the door as the demons banged on the door to get in.

"We can't stay in here forever!" Paige said. "They'll eventually break through."

Piper didn't know what to do. She knew that Paige was right and that they couldn't take on all those demons by themselves, but...

"Piper, listen to me," Paige told her. "I know how much you miss Prue and want her back. And even though I lost my parents, too, I can't understand what you're going through because it's different for everyone. But still. You can't continue the deal at the expense of your life! Not to mention Phoebe's and mine's."

Piper didn't say anything. Phoebe looked nervously from Piper to Paige. Paige continued, "I know you think that the only reason I'm saying this is because I'm afraid of what will happen to me if Prue does come back. And it's true. We don't know what will change and how everything will work out. I don't know if I will still be considered a part of this family. But what I'm saying now has nothing to do with all that. It has to do with there will be no point in bringing Prue back if we are all dead!"

Nothing was said for a while as the demons continued banging on the door trying to get in. Then, Piper spoke up. "You're right, Paige. Everything you've said is the truth. I know I've been selfish-"

"We've been selfish," Phoebe interjected. "And I understand where you're coming from," Piper continued. She held out her hand to Paige. "Let's go."

Just then, the door bust open. One by one the demons tried to get past the dresser blocking entrance into the room. The girls backed up. "Come on," Paige commanded. "We need to go." But Phoebe spied something. In one of the demons' pockets, was the little object they had come there for. Phoebe could see the shiny top above the pocket. Paige saw it, too. Without thinking, she pointed out her arm at it as if to call it to her, but she didn't know the name. However, the shiny object still orbed out from the man's pocket and came to her. The sisters looked at it in shock for a moment.

The demon that they had stolen it from cried out in anger. The girls looked up, remembering that they were still in danger. "Okay, Paige. Now!" Piper commanded.

The demon cried out in anger again as they orbed out. "We have to follow them!" He started to shimmer out. Another demon stopped him. "No, don't. We're safest and strongest here. They could destroy us easily if we followed them."

The first demon protested. "But the-" "I know. Nevertheless, it doesn't matter. I have a feeling we'll be getting it back very soon. Then, we can proceed with our plan."

Paige orbed the sisters to the cemetery where Prue was buried. It looked like no one was there yet. Paige still held the shiny object in her hands. "What do you think it is?"

Piper took it from her and looked at it carefully. "I don't know. But we have it." Piper looked at Paige. "What should we do with it?"

Paige knew that Piper was asking whether or not Paige wanted to give the object to Kevin and secure the deal. She also knew that the decision pretty much rested with her. If she said no, Piper and Phoebe wouldn't go through with it. So what could she say? If Piper and Phoebe were selfish for wanting to bring Prue back, then Paige was selfish for not wanting to bring Prue back. Paige also knew that if she said no, it would separate her even more from her sisters, especially Piper.

"I think..." Paige started slowly, "that we need to give something stolen back to who it belongs to."

Piper and Phoebe both smiled at Paige. "Are you sure?" Phoebe asked.

"As sure as I will ever be."

Piper hugged Paige. "Thanks, Paige," she said. "You will always be a part of this family. No matter what happens."

Paige tried to smile, but she still couldn't change what she felt. And that was that she, Piper, and Phoebe weren't yet close enough as sisters to try to test that bond. With Prue back, Paige was sure that bond would be broken.

At that moment, Kevin shimmered in. "Sorry, I was late," he apologized. "But I knew some sisterly time was in order. Ahhh," he said, noticing that Piper held his object. "You have it."

Without anyone noticing, Chris orbed into a corner where no one could see him. He watched what was happening, knowing what he had to do if Kevin went through with the arrangement.

"Yes, we do," Phoebe replied. "First, bring back our sister."

Kevin looked at them suspiciously. "How do I know that you won't go back on your word after I've brought back your sister?"

Piper smiled at him. "You don't, do you?" Kevin looked at them for a moment longer, as if debating the issue in his head. Finally, he said, "Very well, then." He walked over to Prue's headstone while the girls followed him a distance behind. Chris shrunk even more back into the shadows so that he wouldn't be seen. "Stand back, now," Kevin warned the girls. "It might go wrong if you get too close."

The sisters stepped back. They were all breathless knowing what was about to happen.

I hope we're doing the right thing, Phoebe thought.

Kevin closed his eyes and started muttering a Latin incantation under his breath. When he opened his eyes again, they were completely black.

Oh my God, Paige thought. Kevin lifted his hands towards Prue's headstone and what seemed like some dark smoke came out of them. The dark smoke swirled and swirled around as they started to form the shape of a young woman.

Prue.

Chris looked on at the scene. It's now or never. He also began to mutter an incantation under his breath.

The black smoke was starting to disappear. Piper could see Prue's black hair and part of her ivory skin under the smoke.

"Prue," she whispered, almost afraid to believe that she wasn't dreaming.

Chris stopped muttering the incantation and what looked like and electric charge formed in his hands. It grew bigger and bigger until it was the size of a basketball. Chris looked at it for a moment then hurled it at Kevin with all his might.

The electric charge hit Kevin. For a moment, no one else realized what was happening. Then, the black smoke stopped emerging from Kevin's hands. The electric charge seemed to be taking over his whole body. Kevin yelled in agony. The form of Prue started to slowly disappear. "No," Piper whispered, not believing what she was seeing. Piper dropped the shiny object.

The electric charge started shooting out of Kevin's ears, eyes, and mouth. He was slowly lifted up while he continued to scream in agony. Suddenly, he exploded leaving a small pile of dust on the floor.

The small object swiftly disappeared, but no one noticed.

"No!" Piper screamed, rushing over to the form of Prue. "Piper! No!" Phoebe took off running after her. "Prue!" Piper yelled. The figure of Prue was slowly disappearing.

Phoebe reached Piper and held her so that she couldn't touch the figure of Prue, remembering Kevin's warning about not getting too close. Paige could barely see what was happening through her tears.

"Prue!" Piper screamed again. Piper reached out her fingers to the rapidly vanishing form of Prue. "Oh, God," Phoebe cried, tears running down her face. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry," Piper sobbed out over and over again into Phoebe's shoulder.

Paige looked out on the scene from a distance, tears streaming down.

Chris saw that he had succeeded in doing what he went there to do, so he orbed out. Prue's figure was still swiftly fading. There was still a barely-there smoky outline of her.

Phoebe could not believe that after all they had gone through, it had been for nothing. She continued to hold onto Piper tight as they both sobbed.

"I love you," a voice said that was unmistakably Prue's although her body had disappeared. Her voice faded out.

Phoebe held onto Piper. "It's okay. It's okay. Prue's at peace now." Phoebe kissed the top of Piper's head as Piper continued to weep. "She's at peace," she repeated as if trying to convince herself, also.

Paige wanted so much to go to them, but, for some reason, felt it wasn't her place. I never knew Prue. I wasn't the one who lost her. But in some ways Paige felt as if she had lost Prue. While it was a different kind of hurt than Phoebe and Piper's, it was still there. All this had served to teach the girls something. Prue was gone. And she was never coming back.

END OF ACT IV