Chapter 7: Light at the End of the Tunnel
The demon shimmered into a cavern like room with Piper. Piper knew she was in the underworld and it would be no use calling for Leo. She was in the underworld, kidnapped by a demon that was immune to her powers. It couldn't get much worse.
The queen produced a knife and held it to Piper's cheek. "I'm going to make you suffer like you made me when you killed my drones." She traced the knife down Piper's cheek, to her throat, to her chest, and finally to her abdomen. Then she drove the knife in.
Piper let out a gasp as she fell to the floor in blinding pain. She was wrong. The situation just got much worse. The demon ripped the knife out, cause Piper to spasm in pain. She could barley breathe, barely do anything except thing of the excruciating pain. She tried to calm herself by taking deep breaths. This is no time to panic, she told her self. She held her stomach wound, hoping her baby was still alright.
If she were to die here, the one thing she could do was get revenge on her and her son's killer.
Piper looked at the demon on the other side of the room, sitting in her chair, watching Piper die, as if it were a throne. But then again, it was a throne to her. She was the queen, the leader. Piper looked at the leader, took a deep breath, and began to chant. "Queen of the Hive/ It is now your time to die. Queen of the Hive/ It is now your time to die." She was no power of three, but she was a powerful witch, and maybe, just maybe, if she said it three times, once for each of them, she could vanquish the queen. Before she could get the third time out, pain began washing over her, preventing her from talking.
The queen heard her chanting and stood up. "What are you saying? Stop it, I command you!" The queen took a step, but seemed glued to the floor. "What are you doing to me?"
Piper suppressed the pain. "Queen of the Hive/ It is now your time to die." The queen began to tremble and was engulfed in a huge ball of flames. She high-pitched scream rang in the chamber, causing some of the ceiling to fall, luckily none on Piper. Where the great queen once stood was nothing but a scorch mark.
Piper rolled on to her back and gave into the pain. She tried to call out for Leo, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. The pain was just too great. She was going to die, and no one could help her now.
An elder out in the open in the underworld was never a good thing. Demons and Darklighters were coming after him left and right. They manage to ditch all but two, who Phoebe and Paige were forced to vanquish. As much good as it would have done to vanquish all of them, getting to Piper was their main concern. Every minute them spent vanquishing demons was a minute taken off of Piper's life. The distant pain Leo felt was Pipers, and he knew she didn't have long. With every spasm of pain from Chris, Leo grew more panicky. A spasm of pain from Chris meant a spasm of pain from Piper, and Leo was afraid he would arrive to late.
They finally managed to reach Piper, after ditching a few evil forces, and we in shock to the scene they arrived at. The moment they arrived, Leo saw Piper, on the floor bleeding, mumbling something. He took a step towards her and the queen suddenly became a bright ball of orange fire. Her ear piercing scream made pits of ceiling fall on Phoebe, but she was uninjured.
Leo ran to Piper and instantly began to heal her. "Come on, Piper. You can do it," he whispered, but received no answer.
Piper was standing alone in a tunnel. All around her was dark, except for a sliver of light at the end. Am I dead? Piper wondered. As if to answer her unspoken question, the light came speeding towards her, and she saw a shadowy figure walking towards her. He held out her hand to her, but she hesitated. "Who are you?"
"I am death." He simply stated. Piper suddenly recognized him. She had seen him at the club a few days before.
"I know you. You were at my club."
"Yes, I was. I wanted to examine you, make sure you were actually coming with me this time."
"What do you mean 'this time'?" Piper asked.
"There have been many times you have been on my list, only to be removed later. But this time, you are on it, my dear, and are not being removed."
Piper understood what he was saying. "Leo. You mean Leo. He's the reason I've been 'removed' from your list so many times."
"Yes."
"Well, I got news for you buddy. I'm being 'removed' again, and you can't stop it. Leo!" she called, but there was no familiar twinkle of orbing.
"He can't hear you. The only ones here are you, me, and your baby."
Piper put her hands to her stomach and realized there was no more blood, not even a wound. That freaked her out. It meant this was legit, the real thing. "No. You are not taking me or my baby. Get away from me!"
Piper gestured to blow him up, but nothing happened.
"Your powers are useless," he told her. Piper turned from him and began walking towards the darkness. "There is nothing there. It is endless." Piper just kept walking, but the light and the Angel of Death kept up with her without even moving. "You cannot escape me. If you stay here, you will die eventually and it will be painful. But if you take my hand, there will be no more pain, no more suffering.
"You are not taking me or my baby. Stay away from me!" Piper yelled at him. She decided to try a different approach. Treat him as a demon, one that needs to be vanquished.
"What's taking so long?" Phoebe anxiously asked. Leo had been at it for a good five minutes, and nothing was happening.
"Something's fighting me," Leo replied. As in response, Piper flicked her wrists and blew Leo up.
"Oh my God!" Paige, cradling Chris' head, screamed. "What did she do to him?!"
Leo quickly reformed himself. "I think it's me she's fighting." Leo didn't understand. "Why was Piper fighting him? Didn't she want him to save her?
"Stay away!" Piper yelled and began to struggle against them.
"I don't get it. How can she be on the verge of death and still be fighting?" Phoebe asked.
"I don't know." Leo looked at Piper's wound and determination set in. "Hold her hands, Phoebe." Phoebe did as she was asked. Leo began to heal Piper, determined that nothing would hold him back, not even Piper herself. "Come on, Piper. Don't fight me."
Piper tried punching and kicking the Angel of Death, but it was not use. The punches just sailed straight through him.
"You can't fight me."
"The hell I can't." She threw another punch, but it sailed right through. Piper was getting tired. This placed seemed to be draining her energy. Piper wasn't fighting for herself now; she was fighting for her baby. If she died, Chris would never be born, and that thought gave her the motivation to fight. But now, she wasn't so sure. Powers, spells, physical contact... none of it seemed to be working. She wondered if this was their new destiny, to die. She didn't want to leave Leo, Wyatt, or her sisters, but in the years since she became a witch if she learned anything, it was that everything happens for a reason.
She put her hands on her stomach and contemplated giving in to the Angel, but a Brilliant white light, like the one in front of her, came at her from behind. Oh no, she thought. I've run out of time. Now death has come from both ends to get me. Piper closed her eyes, expecting it to hurt like the Angel of Death told her it would, but she felt nothing. She opened her eyes and saw the Angel of Death staring at her in confusion. Piper was confused too. What was going on?
The white light was coming closer to her. There was something familiar about it to Piper. "Leo!" She whispered, finally recognizing the light as the feel of her husband's healing touch. Without hesitation, Piper step towards the light. She took one last look at the Angel of death and was taken in by the white light.
Leo was just beginning to think he lost Piper, and then suddenly, he felt his power being accepted. "It's working!" he cried and Phoebe and Paige looked at him in anxious relief.
Piper let out a gasp of breath and Leo hugged her close. "I thought I lost you." He was trying not to cry. She had come so close to dying. Too close.
"You did, but I here now and that's what counts." She looked over his shoulder and saw Chris sit up. He looked at her and smiled, and she smiled back.
I hope you like how it's going. Please let me know! Next Chapter is a conclusion, but I am thinking of continuing the story.
