Chapter 10 - The Test
"The Elders?" I asked uncertainly. "Why would they -"
"I was hoping you could explain that?" Paige asked looking at Leo.
"I don't know why they'd do anything like that. They're the rulers of good magic ... Are you sure it's them?"
"They're the only ones who have the power to do that. It has to be them." Phoebe agreed.
"But -"
"Unless they know of anyone else who can do it, it's them." Prue said to Leo. After a few minutes she spoke again. "Uh - Leo?"
"Yeah?"
"Honey, she was asking you to go talk to them." I said.
"Oh. Oh, OK." He orbed out, and we looked at each other, laughing a little bit. Boy, it felt good to laugh again.
A few hours later we were still sat in the kitchen. Every now and then one of us would say something, or dish out fresh coffee, but mostly we sat in silence, checking our watches, or pulling the book towards us, re-reading the page on the Elders then pushing it away ...
Finally, I saw orbs out of the corner of my eye, I jumped up so fast I felt dizzy. Clutching the edge of the chair and hoping no one noticed me nearly fall, I looked at the orbs worriedly.
"Leo?"
Finally the orbs cleared away and he looked at us seriously.
"Well?" Prue asked. He gave a tiny nod.
"They admitted it." He told us quietly. "Said it was a ... a test."
"What!" I cried angrily. "What the hell does that mean!"
"They ... turned the situation to their advantage." Leo said flatly. "Wanted to test how strong your power is, how strong your bond is. They cloaked her, they sent that premonition. It was all them." He looked really weird, and I suddenly realised why. Gideon betrayed us, betrayed Leo, and now this. How could they keep putting him through this? The Gideon thing nearly pushed him over the edge ...
"Did we at least pass?" Phoebe joked.
"This isn't funny, Phoebe! What if -" I stopped my angry rant, realising I was shouting at the wrong people.
"Take me up there." I said, turning to Leo. "I want to talk to them."
"Shout at them more like." Andy muttered. True.
"Yeah, take us up there." Prue said.
I looked at her. "You don't have to -"
"We're in this together, Piper." Phoebe said. "This affects us too, this is family."
"Come on." Paige said, standing up. "You two, watch the kids." She said to Phoebe and Cole, then reached out and grabbed hold of Phoebe, who clung to Prue's arm, who grabbed me. I looked at Leo.
"Maybe you should stay down here. I don't want you getting in trouble." I said carefully.
"No. This involves me too. Patty's my ..." He trailed off uncertainly, as I realised what he was going to say.
"She's your daughter too." I finished for him. He's more of a father to her than Dan. I gripped his hand and we orbed.
"Leo! What do you mean by this!" An angry elder cried as we materialized. "You can't bring them up here."
"Actually, I brought them here. Leo just came along." Paige said. She was only half lying, really.
"You have no right to be up here -"
"I have every right to be up here." I snarled. "After what you did, I think you owe us an explanation."
"We didn't create this situation, we just ... added to it. It isn't our fault your daughter -"
"No, it's my fault." I said bitterly. "And I accept that. But it's your fault it took us so long!" I threw my hands up - and unintentionally blew up a nearby pillar.
"Careful, honey." Leo warned uneasily, gripping my wrists and gently forcing my arms back to my sides.
The Elder opened his mouth, but I cut in.
"Do you know what he was told to do? Michael? He was told to kill her. She could have died. And that would be your fault."
"We wouldn't have let him kill her -"
"The stress of it could have made me lose my baby." I continued. "Where would your precious power of four be then? Hmm? Patty dead, the baby dead?" This time my hands stayed still - Leo was still holding them - but another pillar exploded.
Do you blame me?
"They're would be more." He said flatly.
"So that makes it OK?" I raged. "They aren't just witches, charmed ones. They're people, they are children. And you know what, screw it. Screw you, and your charmed ones, your power of four. The next one - and this one." Three pillars exploded this time - several Elders ducked for cover.
He looked at me carefully. "You are rejecting your legacy? Your destiny?"
"Yeah. I don't need the power of four. You do. I just need my kids safe and healthy. And if you can't respect that, I can't respect your need for us. I quit." The other elders gasped. "The power of three will have to do."
"No it wont." Prue said quickly. I thought for a minute she'd forbid me to quit - I was ready to argue - but she shook her head and look the elder in the eye.
"I quit too." She said stonily.
"And me." Paige and Phoebe said in unison.
"See? That's family." I told the elders. "And that's way more important that any of this, than the Charmed Ones, magic, the greater good. The Power of Four ... is no more."
"Very well." The elder said to us. "As you wish it."
Before another word could be said - or another dirty look could be shot - I felt a weird pulling sensation, and a white orb shot out of me. Out of all of us. The empty feeling I know felt distracted me, until another one shot out of my stomach, and three more floated up from the floor.
"Wh -?"
"It is as you wished it. The Power of Four is no more. Your powers are gone."
I was shocked, but I couldn't let him see that. "Good. Stay away from me, stay away from my family." I turned towards Leo, and he orbed us all out, looking worried.
"What happened?" Andy asked anxiously.
"We gave up our powers." Prue replied tiredly. "We rejected the power of four."
"Guys, I'm sorry." I said quietly. "I know you loved being witches -" I did too actually.
"We love our niece more." Paige assured me. "We can live without magic."
I nodded and smiled, but I wasn't so sure ...