Chapter 2: Inner Turmoil
Piper gripped the rail of the bridge tightly, letting the tears fall freely down her face. Do it, a voice inside of her head encouraged her. This is the only way. It needs to be done. Hearing the voice made Piper cry harder. The voice sound like her own, but felt different, alien. The wind blew her hair into her face, mixing with the tears and goo that ran from her nose. She knew she should wipe the hair out of her face, but couldn't bring herself to let go of the railing.
What Piper didn't know was that there was a Darklighter standing behind her, projecting thoughts into her mind. He was a Spirit Killer, much like the one that was after Prue all those years ago. He had been following her for three weeks now, slowly driving her suicidal, slow enough so her sisters wouldn't realize.
Everything is your fault, the voice in Piper's head told her. It's because of you the Innocent died. It was true. That thought made Piper place one of her feet on the rung of the railing. Madison had only been a sixteen year-old girl, one they were sent to protect. A future Whitelighter, Madison was being hunted by a Darklighter who tired to make her commit suicide so she could never become a Whitelighter. Piper and her sisters showed up just in time to stop her from cutting her wrists. Piper and Phoebe forced Paige to leave with Madison before the Darklighter could kill Paige with his poison arrows. During the fight with the Darklighter, Piper was hurled across the room and into a glass cabinet. As a gut reaction, Piper called out for Leo and he quickly orbed in and orbed Piper out to an abandoned loft where he could safely heal her.
Unknown to them, the Darklighter was working with a partner, and they split up. One went after Madison and Paige and the other went after Leo and Piper. Phoebe was left alone, confused and worried. The first Darklighter caught Paige unawares and shot her and forced Madison to slit her wrists in the Halliwell kitchen. Phoebe arrived only seconds too later to save her. She held the dying girl in her arms.
The second Darklighter followed Piper and Leo to the loft. Leo had just finished healing Piper when the Darklighter black orbed in. He first took aim at Leo, but Piper pushed Leo aside. The arrow flew past Piper's head, missing her by less than an inch. The Darklighter then took aim at Piper, anxious to take out a Charmed One. As he shot, Leo jumped in front of the arrow, taking it in the shoulder. Piper flicked her wrists and the Darklighter let out an ear piercing scream and blew up, leaving nothing behind but his crossbow and a stain on the carpet.
Piper ran to Leo's side. "Paige, she's hurt. You need to switch powers with me, heal her, and come back for me." Leo told her, hearing Phoebe's cries for help in his head.
"But..." Piper protested.
"I'll be fine. Now switch our powers." Piper did as he asked, not happy about it. She didn't wan tot leave him, but she didn't want her sister to die either. After she completed the spell, she took one last look at Leo and orbed out.
Piper orbed to the manor and healed Paige, during which she answered the third degree from Phoebe. She was too late to save Madison, she slender body covered in blood and her beautiful, curly blond hair fanning out from her body, soaking up the blood that had spilled from her young body. It was too late for Madison, but not for Leo. She orbed back to him, healed him, and switched back their powers.
Before she knew it, one thing led to another and she and Leo were naked on the floor. Piper didn't regret what happened, but it was hard, having been so close to Leo and then having him go back 'up there'.
Unknown to them, after Leo left, the Darklighter cursed Piper.
Piper was now thought about Madison's funeral, seeing her sparkling blue eyes closed in irreversible sleep. It was a small funeral, only close friends and family, but hundreds had shown for the wake. It's your fault she won't graduate, have a life, have a family. You're the reason she's dead. Piper had lost innocents before, but she didn't understand why this one affected her so deeply.
Piper looked down at the traffic below and her stomach turned. She didn't want to do this. Yes, you do, the voice told her. You almost killed your son the other day. That thought made Piper sob and she put her other foot on the rung of the railing. She was no longer on solid ground. All she had was this flimsy rail between her and certain death.
She almost killed Wyatt the other day. She was driving him to daycare when she was driving through an intersection, only five mile above the speed limit, when she looked down for just a second. She never saw the car come and sideswipe her SUV. Piper had been knocked unconscious for a few seconds, and she awoke to Wyatt's crying. A large piece of metal, from the side door, had almost pierced his stomach. Wyatt had thrown his shield up just in time to avoid being stabbed to death. If Wyatt didn't have the shield, Piper thought, he would have been killed. And it would have been my fault.
The Darklighter smiled and laughter to himself. He was breaking her, he could see it in her face, feel it in her thoughts. It was time for the Big One. The One that would cause the Charmed One to jump. The painful memory that would make Piper Halliwell take her own life. The death of Prue.
The Darklighter really didn't even need to convince Piper it was her fault Prue was dead. Piper already believed it and that made his job so much the easier. Prue, he projected into her mind. Prue, the sister you killed."
Piper let out a sob that racked her whole body. She climbed over the railing of the bridge and looked down at the traffic. She would do this. It was her fault Prue died. Prue died so Piper could live. Prue sacrificed her self for Piper. There was only one thing let for her to do. Jump.
Author's note: I hope you found this interesting. (Sorry if it's a little wordy. I wasn't sure how to get my point across.) Please read and review.
Does Piper jump or not? Find out in the next chapter!
