Chapter Eleven
The sun had come up faithfully just as every other day. Piper rose out of her bed slowly and walked downstairs. She put the coffee on brew and walked outside to get the newspaper. She returned back, poured herself a cup and sat down peering at the headlines. Just then she heard footsteps rushing down the stairs. Piper instinctively held on to her coffee cup as Phoebe rushed in with her laptop in a hurry as usual.
"Who's chasing you?" Piper asked even though she knew the answer.
"Oh! Just Paige." Phoebe replied as she grabbed Pru's mug and emptied out the coffee in it.
"She did it again." Paige whined without even looking at the pot. "I can't believe you let her empty the pot again." Paige cried to her eldest sister. Piper didn't even look up at her siblings' daily little quarrel. She simply raised her coffee cup for Paige. "Have mine. I'll make another one." She said as she let go of the cup. Fraction of a second latter the cup hit the floor and shattered along with Piper's day dream. Piper looked up at the empty room and the silence around it.
Piper stared at the broken pieces just as she stared at her empty home. It had been over two years since the night they had all stood in the attic and cried for Phoebe. And since then Piper had broken many such mugs and other article when her mind wander beyond the realm of reality.
Phoebe's death had devastated both the sisters. Paige in the beginning converted her grief into anger and sought Odan for revenge. But it wasn't long before Darrel had come baring the news that Faith's finger prints were on the dragger covered with Phoebe's blood. The news had shattered Piper's last remaining piece of heart so hard that Piper had lost consciousness for days. When she woke up in the hospital, Willow had informed her that Paige had left for good.
Even though both the sisters had realized that Kelly and Faith had disappeared, they both had hoped that Faith wasn't directly involved in Kelly's rise. When their hope was broken Paige had finally given up and cried for hours as she didn't have it in her to want revenge from a woman who simply chose her own child. Instead she couldn't stop thinking about where it all started and the buck stopped at Piper; Piper, who had betrayed them by lying to them, Piper, who had decided on her own to be the sacrifice. Sometimes when she really missed Phoebe she even blamed Piper for screwing up the memory spell. When she couldn't forgive Piper because of whom she felt Phoebe was gone, she decided it was best for her to leave and never look back. For the second time in her life death had stolen her family.
Scully finally found a spot after fifteen minutes and pulled in. After she parked the car she got out and started walking briskly towards the building that read NYPD. She did not want to come to New York City, but as usual Mulder had managed to drag her there. After three days in the city they still were not able to find out anything about the mysterious man that NYPD had in custody.
She stood in front of the door and took a deep breath to prepare herself for everything Molder would throw at her today. She opened the door and walked into an empty room. She was still staring in a little bit of surprise when someone tapped on her shoulders.
"Agent Mulder is in the basement." Detective Stabler said as he guilded the red headed Agent to the basement of the department.
About a month ago, a man was found in the streets of New York City with a woman's body next to her. The woman's body was drained out of her blood as though someone had put a pump and mechanically drained her blood out. As for the man he was unharmed and not a spot of blood was on him. The man was taken into custody by Detective Stabler and Benson of NYPD's SVU (Special Victims Unit). Though it was most logical that it was the man who killed the woman, they just didn't have any evidence. They hit a wall after trying to talk to the man who just refused to speak and just stared at the sun. It was then that Detective Olivia Benson had decided to do some research on the victim and the way she was killed. While doing so, she was referred to FBI's departed of X-files who claimed to have seen murder done in such a manner. When she had called on their help hoping to get some pages of case history, she was surprised that Agent Mulder with his partner wanted to come and personally be involved in the case. Though a little hesitant at first, both the detective welcomed their help if it could make their suspect talk and solve their case.
"Even here they moved you to the basement Mulder." Scully joked as she got down the last few steps.
"What can I say? Me and the basement are made for each other." Mulder replied being a sport. "And here is something I want you to see."
Scully walked to where Mulder stopped. In front of them was an old fashioned metal barred cell, inside which was a dark man with pitch black eyes standing solemnly and staring at nothing in particular.
"He is the same guy; our guy who looked as white as a ghost." Scully asked unable to believe her eyes.
"One and only." Detective Benson replied. "Agent Mulder came up with an idea this morning and we decided to bring him away from the sunlight and as deep dark as we could find. And here he is with color back and he even started to talk few words."
"Really, what words?" Scully asked.
"Mostly gibrish or foreign language." Detective Stabler answered unenthusiastically.
"Yeah. Things like Tala, Sancho. Sancho. Sancho." Detective Benson finished for her partner.
"I can draw his blood and try and see what is happening to him physically." Agent Scully offered a solution.
"I don't think you can draw his blood." Mulder answered.
"Why not?" Scully asked as all three of them stared at him.
"One of the words or might I say sentence he said was." He paused to look into Scully's eyes as he spoke. "Slayer here."
She knocked on the door and waited. She listened hard for any noise from inside, but there was none. She knocked again and waited for few more seconds. She checked both the sides out of habit even though there was no reason to do so. Just as she was about to knock again the door flew open. "It's about time." The short dark haired beauty said as she pulled her inside.
It didn't take her long to find her once she was inside. How could she miss it? After all she sat on the same corner bar table every night as Christine had told her. Willow sighed in disappointed and thought about how time had played with them as she walked to the bar corner.
"Well well well. Look who is here." Piper rejoiced when she saw the red head approaching. "Bartender one round for me and my friend." She hugged Willow with one hand and pulled the stool to sit next to her.
"Piper what is happening?" Willow asked saddened by the course the Halliwell had chosen. She asked every time she came by and she had made it a point to come by often enough to keep an eye on the fallen hero.
Life had not been an easy thing to go back to for Willow either. There had been more death of the loves ones than she could handle. Tears had found a permanent outlet for a while but then even they dried up. Bright sun reminded them constantly that they were alive which was more painful that burning in the sun light for a vampire. Scoobies that once was the sole reason for her existence was no more. Xander and Anya moved away unable to live with haunted memories of Buffy. Giles moved back to England to prepare the watchers for the day Kelly might seek their help. Wesley had followed Giles but Giles had assured Willow that Wesley would not have any decision making power in the council. As for heart broken Tara, she had found solace in her destiny. She rarely visited Sunnydale or San Francisco but because of Willow she checked in once in a while.
Fred rejoined Angel and his team in Los Angels.
Willow on the other hand took a completely different stride. She couldn't move away because she felt as though she owed it to Buffy to stay in Sunnydale in case Dawn returned, who had run away the day of the funeral. Willow also felt responsible for the Charmed Ones' demise and decided to keep an eye on the remaining two sisters even though they themselves decided to be miles apart.
Both women attacked each other with a hunger that was almost primitive. There were no words spoken, there was no light shown, and there was nothing that remotely reminded them of anything than the raw desire for fulfillment. They both tore each others clothes and tossed and turned one another to get the maximum taste of the heat that encapsulated in the core of their woman hood. Only sound that filled the dark room was the moaning of two incredibly beautiful and naked women whose every limb, bare skin and every angle formed entangled with each other yet somehow didn't seem to fit even though they ecstatically melded as the echoes of the scream of unified climax replaced their impatient moans.
It took the short haired beauty about five minutes to recover from her ordeal. Once she opened her eyes and realized it was over, she got up naked and walked to her kitchen. She walked back with two chilled beer.
"Here." She said as she offered.
Faith turned around and took a sip of the beer before she said thanks.
"I am sorry I called you in such a rush. I just needed to get it out." The woman apologized as she slipped back into the covers with Faith.
"It's five by five. I saw how much you needed it." Faith replied.
"Yeah, I had working with this colleague and I just so felt such a rush of want. But you know with my line of work…" She wanted to share where she was coming from to Faith.
"Hey, chill. I don't need to know and I don't care. You could have pictured me as your colleague or as Angelina Jolie, it doesn't be." Faith clearly didn't want to know anything.
"I know." She said apologetically. "But I am always Perfect." She said regaining her interest.
Faith didn't say a word as she sipped the beer and regretted the day she had let loose and a little and told her that she always pictured her as Perfect to be able to touch her.
"You still love her don't you?" She asked sincerely wanting to know.
Faith got up silently and started to put on her clothes. From the corner of her eyes Faith saw her staring blankly into the space.
"Its ok you know." Faith finally said once she was fully dressed.
"What's ok?" She asked confused.
"She is gone. She has been gone for a while. I know its no one's fault. But by now you know she is not coming back. So, it's ok for you to like someone and want someone else for a change." Faith offered her insight.
Faith sat next to her friend and put her hand on hers. "Alex would want you to move on. Not just have booty calls, and let every opportunity slip by."
"Then why don't you move on?" Olivia turned the question around.
"It's different. And as far as I am concerned I have moved on." Faith replied and looked away quickly so that her eyes would betray her.
"Really, what would happen if she were here?" Olivia asked knowing that it was her friend who was hanging on to her past more than she was.
Whenever Olivia got into the mood of trying to get Faith to talk about her emotion, especially about Piper, Faith turned into a mime. She always refused to answer any assumption Olivia had.
"I know what would happen. You would run right back into her arms." Olivia sighed as she gave up trying to tell her friend to get out of her past.
"No, that's impossible." Faith replied this time.
"Why is it impossible?" She asked.
"Because, we both had to make choices that hurt the other." Piper replied.
"I know but it was due to the circumstances." Willow refused to give up on the couple.
"Yeah but think about it Willow, I killed Kelly. Even though for the purpose of rising her and she killed Phoebe. How can any one of us forget that?"
"If she were here tomorrow…"
"I hope not." Piper stopped Willow before she could finish. "I know I still love her, but what am I to say? Yes, you killed my sister and I understand the reason why now lets just pick up where we left." Piper paused and laughed at the irony of her life. "I don't think so."
"So, what would happen if she was here?" Willow asked again.
"I don't know. But I just hide out here and refuse to move and inch hoping that we would not cross paths."
Leo waited outside the door patiently without making a single sound. Just as he saw her come out, he made his move but he wasn't fast enough. She suddenly stopped in her tracks and turned around.
The first one dusted into thin air as she moved past the cloud to attack the second one. Faith had just left the apartment and had found herself being attacked by half a dozen vampires. Even as she dusted the low lives one by one she could feel it in her gut that she was being watched. She looked into the shadows of the buildings every chance she got but the vampires kept her occupied. As she jumped on one of the ugly ones she saw what her eye sought in the far corner. She stood up and strode towards the silhouette, not dusting the two more remaining creatures on her way. Before she could stop the figure came out of the shadow and showed itself.
"You!" Faith exclaimed in surprise.
"What are you doing here? I thought you were imprisoned by the elders." Paige asked her former white lighter.
"Elders don't imprison they just wanted me to learn my lesson, and now I have." Leo replied to the youngest Halliwell.
"Well, congratulation." Paige said happy for him. "So, what brings you here?"
"I had a mission for you and Piper." Leo answered.
"A mission. I don't know if you have heard. We are not the Charmed Ones anymore. You know the power of three gone as there is no three here." Paige made fun of their situation.
"I know but this is something only you and Piper can do. Paige you have to help out here it's a matter of grave importance." Leo begged.
"It always is Leo. Haven't you learnt that already." Paige disregarded Leo's plea.
"Don't tell me you still blame Piper?" Leo asked unable to determine the reason for her disinterest.
Paige looked down and pondered for a minute, "No, I have stopped blaming her. Doesn't mean I still don't hate the way Phoebe had to go."
"I know, but don't you think that Phoebe would have never wanted you two separate."
"I know. I just don't know how to go back." Paige confessed.
"May be magic can be your link to go back home." Leo offered.
"I don't know Leo." Paige answered pessimistically.
"Look, this mission needs you and Piper. Now, I could not approach Piper because she doesn't care no more. A demon attacked the manor and she sat out there waiting for him to kill her. Fortunately Willow had put a spell around her because of which she was saved. But if I go to her to save the world she would just welcome it rather than prevent it. Please don't tell me you feel the same."
"No, I don't think the world should be destroyed."
"Then please help me. You are the only one who could bring Piper out of her own sentence."
"Ok Leo you talked me into it. What is the mission?"
"She is." Leo said as he handed her a picture of a stunningly beautiful woman.
"Who is she?" Paige asked.
"Saleena."
"Saleena!" Faith exclaimed once again. "What are you doing here?"
"Why an old friend can't visit?" The beauty answered as the two old friends interlocked in a hug.