Part Four

She'd already exploded ten demons and Piper was growing tired. If Christy and Billie didn't show up soon, they would have to give up on Plan C.

"Athame!" Paige commanded as she sent it flying back at the demon that had thrown it. He'd been the last demon standing.

The Charmed Ones backed up towards each other and scanned the room for other demons.

"If this doesn't get their attention," Paige murmured, "I don't know what will."

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the Halliwell sisters," Christy greeted as she and Billie entered the room from the hall. Acknowledging the tears in their outfits and their disheveled appearance, she smirked, "You're just gluttons for punishment, aren't you?"

Phoebe ignored Christy and focused on Billie, "Cole told me about Christy. When he was Source, he discovered what the Triad was doing with her."

"Torturing her!" Billie spat.

"Training her," Phoebe corrected. "She wasn't tortured, Billie, at least not like she's led you to believe."

But Billie didn't want to hear, "I'm glad he's dead! You said the Triad worked for the Source so he's the one responsible for what happened to her!"

Phoebe shook her head while unconsciously squeezing each of her sister's hands, "By the time Cole became Source, the Triad was already deep into her training."

"You're lying!" Christy shouted as she pulled Billie back.

"She wouldn't lie about Cole," Paige commented with a slight nod to her sister, "not anymore."

Christy turned to Billie, "He's the one who made the trap stronger. I could've died and she'd've let it happen."

"We're trying to save you," Piper declared, "not kill you."

"Billie, please," Paige appealed, "the ultimate power doesn't have to be evil. You and your sister could be a powerful force for good. You could continue helping people, saving innocents. The two of you together."

Christy didn't like the way Billie was concentrating on the Halliwells and she tugged on her sister's arm, "We need to end this, once and for all, or they'll always be after us. I don't want to spend the rest of my life in hiding, Billie. I don't want to live in fear that someone's going to take me away."

"I won't let that happen," Billie promised. "But, Christy, maybe they have a point. Maybe we should go away for a while, just the two of us and --"

"No!" Christy jerked back, "They won't let us go. Don't you see, Billie, they think I'm evil. They want me dead."

"That isn't true!" Piper argued. "You know it's not true, Billie."

"You came to us for help," Paige reminded the young witch, "because you wanted to find your sister. Do you honestly believe we'd have taken you in if we wanted your sister dead?"

"You knew the truth about Billie," Christy accused, "and you wanted to keep her close, to keep her under your control."

"We love you, Billie," Phoebe quietly countered. "You're a part of our family and all we want is to help you and your sister. You just have to let us."

"You wouldn't stop us from leaving?"

Piper glanced at her sisters before shaking her head, "Not if that's what you want."

Billie tugged on Christy's sleeve, "Let's go, okay? We just lost Mom and Dad and I don't want to lose you too."

"You won't lose me," Christy promised with a smile as she rubbed Billie's arms, "because we can end this now. We're stronger than they are, Billie. Deep inside, you know we are." She focused on Piper, "And I can't let you get away with murdering our parents."

Piper raised her hands to her face as she felt it heat up but even worse than the fear of dying was the shock when Wyatt orbed in front of her and protected her with his shield. She knelt next to him, hugging him tight, before instinctively waving her hands to blow up Christy.

"No!" Billie shouted and automatically retaliated. But the object she sent flying at Piper bounced off Wyatt's shield.

"Going after innocent babies now?" Paige questioned with disappointment.

Billie immediately realized what she'd done and stepped back. "Nnno, of course not. I just, I mean he…"

"You came to us," Paige reminded her. "You convinced us that we needed to continue fighting evil."

"You helped remind us how important good magic can be," Phoebe added.

Piper straightened with Wyatt in her arms, "Think about all the innocents that will be lost if you give up now."

"I'm not giving up," Billie desperately insisted. "Why can't you see what you're doing?"

"Because they're too selfish and self-centered," Christy replied. "They don't care about anyone else's pain. We don't have a choice, Billie. We have to protect ourselves. I'm your sister and we have to stick together. Weren't our parents innocents? Didn't they deserve to live, to be happy and reunited with both their daughters? We'll never have that now, thanks to them."

"It isn't fair," Billie angrily agreed as she spun back to the sisters.

"No it isn't," Christy stated as she grinned, "so we'll just have to even the score." She nodded to the corner of the room where a demon materialized holding an athame to the baby's neck.

"Chris," Piper uttered in shock. But before she could act, the demon slit Chris's throat and dropped the body on the floor before disappearing.

Piper practically dropped Wyatt as she raced towards her baby, screaming for Paige's help.

Billie stared at her older sister in shock and stepped back, "Did you order the demon to do that?"

"Now we don't have to worry about them coming after us," Christy stated. "Now they'll understand the pain we feel."

But Billie still backed away, "He was only a baby, Christy. How could you let that happen?"

"I'm sorry, Billie," Christy entreated, "but it was them or us. Now, come on, let's get out of here."

"No!" Phoebe stepped in front of Wyatt as angry tears streamed down her cheeks. The rage was so powerful and she felt she could barely contain it as she clenched her fists. "You're not going anywhere, bitch."

Billie gasped at the sight of electricity sparking from Phoebe's fists. "Phoebe, what --"

Phoebe didn't hear her, didn't see her. All she saw was Christy. She raised her arms and let the power out.

Billie darted towards Phoebe and pulled on Phoebe's arms, "Phoebe, please, she's my sister. She's confused. You have to stop! Please, you're hurting her. It's enough."

But Phoebe watched the electricity send Christy into contortions of pain. "It's not enough. How much more pain do we have to suffer? How many more sacrifices do we have to make? How many times do I have to watch him die?"

Oblivious to the attack, Paige prayed as her glowing hands finally began to seal Chris's wound.

Her hands soaked in her son's blood, Piper murmured a mantra of, "Please, God, please…"

Chris's small body gave a spasm on the floor and he'd barely begun to cry when Piper grabbed him into her arms and squeezed him tightly, "Thank God, oh, God, thank you…"

Paige breathed heavily, murmuring her own bit of thanks, when she spotted Phoebe from the corner of her eye. "Oh, my God." She scrambled to her feet, "Phoebe, no!"

Piper glanced up to see the horror of her sister's once-predicted future coming true, "Phoebe, no!" She got to her feet still holding Chris tightly in her arms.

Phoebe didn't even glance at her sisters and kept up with her attack on Christy, "She killed Chris!"

"No, sweetie," Piper quickly said, "no, Paige healed him. Look, Phoebe, see he's fine now."

"She killed Cole!"

"He was dead anyway," Paige countered as she cautiously approached her sister. "Please, Phoebe, don't do this."

"She's my sister," Billie pleaded. "She's all I have left."

"Remember Cal Greene," Piper requested, hoping the memory of that consequence would shock her into stopping.

"She's not innocent," Phoebe cried. "She's evil and she'd kill us anyway."

"Phoebe, please," Paige reached out, "Cole wouldn't want this. Come here, please."

Curled on the floor, smoke pouring from her body, Christy weakly called to her sister, "Billie…"

And Billie's fear suddenly turned to anger and she sent a dagger flying at Phoebe, stopping it inches from her heart, "Go ahead, give me a reason."

And something in Phoebe snapped. She felt the energy drain from her and lowered her hands as she stepped away from the dagger's tip and stood next to her sisters. She lowered her head and apologized, "I was so angry. I didn't mean to --"

"To what," Billie screamed as she knelt next to Christy, "kill my sister?"

"Cause you to kill," Phoebe softly replied.

"We're leaving now and you're not stopping us," Billie announced as she placed her arm around Christy and supported her sister.

"Talk to your sister," Paige told her, "and try to convince her about the power of good magic or next time…"

"Are you threatening us?"

"We don't want to hurt you," Piper swore as Wyatt hugged her leg, "but we will protect our family. Whatever it takes."

"And so will we," Christy hoarsely declared as she squeezed her eyes shut.

Billie watched as Phoebe doubled over in pain. "Christy, no, stop!"

"That's enough!" Piper shouted as she waved her hands and tried to blow up Christy.

"We'll need a Power of Three spell," Paige realized as she orbed Phoebe to her side under the protection of Wyatt's shield.

"Christy, please, let's just go."

"No," Christy insisted as she shrugged off Billie's arm, "they're evil and need to be destroyed. Don't you get it, it's why I was sent back. To find you and destroy the Charmed Ones. Without them, there won't be any stopping us."

Billie sent Phoebe flying into a bookcase and pleaded with her sister, "We're safe now, Christy. As long as we're together. Come with me, we'll go far away from them. Please, Christy."

Piper waited for Phoebe to move but her heart was in her throat as she feared Billie might've just killed her sister. She shoved Chris at Paige and repeatedly kept trying to blow up Christy. Already weakened by Phoebe's attack, Piper kept it up, knowing it was only a matter of time before she succeeded.

Billie knew there was nothing she could do and she cried as her sister suddenly exploded in millions of tiny pieces. "I hate you," she whispered sharply to them as she fled the room.

Paige was already at Phoebe's side and didn't notice Billie's exit. "It's not working, Piper."

Piper fearfully nudged Wyatt towards his aunts, "Help Auntie Paige, Wyatt. Help her heal Auntie Phoebe."

But Paige only shook her head and glanced back at her older sister. "I don't know why but it's not working."

"Maybe I can help…"

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