Different Paths Part 49:
Life or death?

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Prue appeared in a huge cavern. The only light in it was coming from a burning fire. She saw, somewhat far from her away, two figures, which seemed to play chess. Everywhere treasures were placed. Magical treasures. Mythical treasures. Treasures, humans would only know by fairy tales. One of the figures, a white dressed one, looked up and with that the view of the figure in black followed. Both immediately got up and went towards her
"you need to leave... no one is allowed to be here"
the person in black told Prue
"who are you, my child?"
she asked
"I'm one of the charmed ones... I'm the 'oldest'"
the white dressed person bowed in reverence
"my pleasure"
Prue smiled and was about to tell her, to stop it, when the angel continued to speak
"but, as much as I hate to say this... you really have to leave..."
"I can't... not without Pandora's Box..."
"You can't have it"
"evil! You have to excuse him... but... we're the guardians of those magical treasures and we can't allow anyone to take them. They're too powerful"
"I understand, but I don't wanna take anything... I just want to... see the box and read that spell in front of it... if that's okay..."
Prue had handed the spell to the angel and waited for her response "I understand, you want to try this, but before I give you access... I want you to know, that just by breaking this curse, destiny still will stroke, when it has to..."
"I know. But I need to get rid of being guilty for it..."
"Follow me"
the angel told her but the demon stopped her
"what the hell are you doing?"
"She won't even touch it... so why not let her proceed..."
"Okay... fine... but you'll be the one responsible if something happens our bosses don't like..."
"Yeah whatever... better think about your next move..."
she told him, moved one of the figures on the chess board and looked at Prue. She went with her to the desired box
"there you go... you do realize you can't open it, right?"
Prue smiled
"naturally, thank you"
she said nodding
"I wish you success"
Prue's smile disappeared and she just nodded as the angel went back to the chess board. Prue looked back down on the spell and then back at the box. She closed her eyes tightly as she started to recite the spell three times. As she had finished it, the box glowed as well as Prue herself. She was lifted into the air and forced to stay in a special position. Her arms on her sides, hanging loosely down. Her body a line. Her head forced back into her neck, so she had to look at the ceiling. Prue felt energy surrounding her as she opened her mouth and at the same time the box opened and Prue received the content of it. She immediately could feel all the pain and suffer the whole world received after Pandora had opened the box for the first time. She could feel every detail. Every little physical or psychical pain any human ever walking the earth had suffered. It was overwhelming. When she finally was let down to the earth again she automatically broke together. She was hard breathing, felt like she wouldn't get any air anymore and she indeed couldn't. She could feel people suffocate. She was burning up, since illness was one of those plagues Pandora 's Box had brought over the human race. She couldn't move one muscle anymore, since it was like everything of it was hurt, cut. It was almost impossible to receive any more pain and suffer. Soon enough Prue found herself laying on the floor. She didn't have the strength to sit or move. To back herself on something, anything. She didn't know where anyone could get the strength of fighting this. It seemed impossible to fight. She felt herself weakening by the second. And who wouldn't? she was suffering under every wound, every illness, every feeling of loss, every feeling of guilt, that ever was felt on earth. There were many people who would have died right away.

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The girls, Victor and Andy soon enough appeared in the cavern as well. Andy looked around, but he wasn't the one, to notice the dieing Prue on the floor.
"Mommy!"
Mags yelled seeing her mom. She wanted to run to her, but at the same time felt her dad's and grandpa's hand holding tightly onto her, to keep her in space.
"Let me go!"
she yelled, trying to pull away. Anna started to cry immediately as well.

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Prue heard her children, but thought she was just hallucinating and then suddenly gasped for air. There was so much more worriedness, so much more pain there right now. It just suddenly had appeared. She yelled out in pain, not understanding why this suddenly was so much stronger.

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Andy handed Anna to Victor and then knelt down to Meghan's height. He grabbed her other hand as well and made her look at him. Her face was soaking by the tears she had already cried
"hey... hey... shshsh... it's okay... you can't see mom now... but... I promise I'll get her home safe... okay?"
"what's with mommy..."
she asked ignoring her father's words
"nothing is wrong... okay? Mags... look at me... okay? You make sure grandpa and Anna are okay... I care for mommy... okay? Mags... please..."
"I want mommy..."
"I know... and she'll be at home in no time, but... now... princess... please... you help mommy the best... if you make sure grandpa and Anna are safe... bring them home, okay?"
Meghan looked at her mom, heard her screaming in pain and she knew nothing was okay. She didn't know what to do. She wanted to stay with her. But the fact her dad told her to leave, that everything would be okay, made her doubt everything her eyes saw.
"no"
she repeated, starring at her mom. Andy saw where Mags was looking and grabbed her face into his hands and made her look back at him. he didn't want Mags to remember Prue that way if this was the last time she'd see her mother
"Mags... please... go now... make grandpa be safe, okay? Can you do that for me..."
Meghan looked at her dad with tears streaming out of her eyes. All the pressure he put on her, only made her worst
"for mommy?"
Mags was very scared and shocked, but she knew this was the only thing she could do 'for mommy'. She slowly nodded and then backed into her grandpa. She was still crying. But hoped, her dad would somehow manage to make everything okay again. She grabbed with her little, visibly shaking hands, her grandfather's and used his strength and some of her sister's powers to get them back to the manor.

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Andy hurried towards Prue, but was blocked by the demon again
"get away..."
"This is my wife... the hell I'm going away!"
he told him and pushed him away. He went for Prue and picked her into his arms
"Prue..."
he whispered, holding her and then took her hand. Prue screamed in pain. Andy was so close and this made the feelings so much worse. She thought it was again just an illusion, but when she was picked up, she knew it was true. He was there.
"I'm here, I'm here... it's okay... you have to fight it... okay? You need fight, honey... for me... for the girls..."
"I... I can't... it... it's so..."
Prue couldn't go on. She was suffocating by all this pain. It was impossible to keep up fighting.
"Yes you can... you can... I know you can... honey... please... don't leave me alone... you can't leave me alone..."
Andy begged and kissed her gently, then turned to look at good and evil
"do something!"
Andy yelled helplessly at them
"do you know the legend?"
"What legend!"
Andy asked in tears. He knew Prue was about to die in his arms, if he didn't have a solution for this all very, very soon and those two were standing there doing nothing.
"of Pandora's Box, you idiot!"
the evil said, he had been even more bad mooded since Andy had hit him.
"No..."
Andy said hopeless...
"Only the last content of the box can help her..."
"I don't know what the last content is..."
he yelled and looked desperately down at Prue. Searching the answer in his wife. He knew she'd know the answer. She was the best in such mythical stuff. He didn't know anyone else he could rely more on in things like this. The only one he could ask couldn't help him, because she was the one needing him now the most.
"Prue... no... Please..."
he begged seeing how her body seemed to weaken more and more.
"You can't leave me"
he said and leaned down. His forehead lying on hers.
"You can't leave me..."
he told her a barely breathing Prue. Suddenly a song sprang to his mind. He always thought, it'd match perfectly into what he felt for Prue 'you light up my life, you give me hope to carry on... you light up my days and fill my nights with song...'
"You give me hope... to carry on."
He whispered lightly as he repeated the passage of the song. Prue reacted on what he said and gasped once more for air
"what? What... Prue what? Hope... you mean... you mean it's Hope? that's it? Hope?"
he asked, desperately searching for the answer. Prue couldn't help him anymore. She just starred into his eyes. Andy looked into her eyes and knew he found the solution but he wasn't too sure how to give Prue Hope.
"okay... umm... Hope..."
Andy started to babble.
"you... do have to go on... because... cause life is wonderful... you are wonderful... the girls... they need you, you know... isn't that Hope? Everything will be okay, honey, I promise... I'll bring you home... I'll promise..."
he told her desperately. He kissed her almost a million times and feared that each of them could be the last. And then his worst fears came true: Prue stopped to gasp for air. She stopped and starred with wide open eyes at him. Andy's heart skipped a beat, not sure about what was going to happen now. Prue then was pulled out of his arms, lifted into the air again and forced to that same position as something was coming out of Prue's body. Andy watched speechless about what was happening to his wife. Suddenly Prue fell to the floor again. As if someone threw her down. Andy smoothed her fall and placed her back in his arms. Andy looked down at her. She didn't breath. She was very pale. She was cold. Her eyes were wide open and empty. She didn't move. She was dead.
"No! No!"
he yelled and started to shake her, but Prue wouldn't react. He brought her lifeless body closer to his.
"No! You can't leave me."
he sobbed into her chest
"I can't... Prue... damn it... wake! Please..."
he cried and let her down, looking at her eyes again
"damn it breath!"
nothing happened. Nothing seemed to work. He had lost Prue. He again buried his face in her lifeless body and cried into her for a few endless minutes. After a while he suddenly felt a hand in his hair. He tried shrugging it off. But it didn't go away.
"Damn it! Stop!"
he yelled, looking back at the angel and her buddy, who stood several feet further away. He had thought it was one of them who crawled his hair. He starred speechless at them and how far away they were. It couldn't have been one of them. He didn't dare to look down but when he finally did he saw Prue looking with lovely eyes at him
"I... love you"
she breathed, almost only mouthed. Andy's heart skipped a beat as she spoke. She was alive. He starred at her. He watched her chest moving up and down. Her warm skin, which was also getting a bit more of colour again. She breathed. She was alive. He leaned down and kissed her the most passionate way he ever did.
"I love you too!"
he told her and again held her tight. He again buried his still wet face in her chest. Prue smiled lightly and wrapped her arms loosely around him. She was too weak for any serious moves. slowly a dark green essence started to float out of Prue's body. The curse was leaving her body. Prue had won. It was gone.
"Bri... bring... bring me... home..."
she whispered into his ear. She was seeking for a bed. For rest. For sleep. For peace. For her family.

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Andy brought Prue home and placed her on the bed. He had been caressing and starring at her for about half an hour now. Prue just starred back into his eyes, holding as tight as possible onto his hand
"the..."
"Shsh... don't talk... just sleep a little..."
Andy said gently. Prue closed her eyes and shook her head
"Prue... you need to rest now..."
"I... I... will... bu... but... I... wanna... s... see... the... the girls..."
"You can see them later, honey... just... close your eyes now for a while..."
Prue shook her head
"please..."
she whispered. Andy sighted and nodded, he orbed out and to the manor.

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The girls had stayed with Piper, phoebe and Paige. Piper was still, almost an hour of them being back, trying to calm Brianna down, Leo held Chris and gave him a bottle and Meghan was crying hysterical into phoebe's chest. Paige crawled her back. Meghan hadn't spoken one word.
"shshshs... mommy will be okay... I promise..."
Paige told her, trying to calm her finally sown. She then saw Andy orbing in. he didn't talk to her. He just picked Meghan up, who started to cry into her father's chest right away, without a word he then went to Piper and picked his youngest daughter up as well. He was about to orb out again, when Piper held onto him
"don't you dare..."
she told him
"what's with Prue?"
Phoebe asked an instant later
"she's weak... but okay..."
he told them and finally disappeared again.

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"Look"
Andy whispered to Meghan and Brianna as they reappeared in their bedroom. Prue opened her eyes and turned her head to see hr girls
"mommy!"
Meghan yelled and tried to get out of her father's grip and this time she won and Andy had to let her fall onto the bed. Meghan right away crawled up to her mom and held her tight, as if she'd never let her go again. Prue smiled and closed her eyes, then moved her hand on Meghan's back.
"Mags... get off of mom..."
Andy told her. Prue just opened her eyes and looked at Andy. Andy read her eyes and knew she wanted to hold their baby
"Prue..."
Andy sighted and gave in. he gently set Brianna in Prue's awaiting arms as well.
"Shshshshs"
was everything she still could manage to tell her daughters. Andy kissed her forehead and sat down next to her again. He again started to stare into her eyes... crawling her face. Prue's eyes were closed. She had fallen asleep just after she had her girls with her. She had her family there. They all were okay. So it was okay. She fell into a deep slumber and wouldn't wake for a long while.