Angelically Charmed: Portrait of a Schemer
Alone in crowded attic filled with the people she loved. That's how Prue Halliwell felt.
"No, No…Leo pl-please don't pull your hands away, I know you can heal me. Leo I just need a little bit more-" that was the first thought inside of Prue's head. The second was of Bane. "Bane's a whitelighter? I knew he had some goodness behind that bad boy image" She tried to smile inwardly but she couldn't. Her thoughts were as clear as a bell but her body wouldn't cooperate. "Why can't I move?"
All she could remember was trying to telekinetically fight Francis and whatever parasitical beam of magical non-sense that she was trying to pump into her mind. Visions of her she and Andy together, kissing with Andy caressing the side of her face whispering he loved her…
That had been just a little too much for her to handle. Her emotions had taken over causing a horrible pain in her head, one so intense it felt like her brain was exploding. Then it happened. She couldn't move, she couldn't open her eyes.
"Argh! This is getting so damn frustrating. I need to be awake so that I can help Piper find Paige! Can anybody hear me?" Giving in, Prue let her emotions send a stream of tears down her face.
With Andy off to find Ava, and Leo combing the book of shadows, Bane took the opportunity to get close to Prue. Quiet as mouse, Bane moved across the room to the sofa and sat on the edge, taking a hold of Prue's hand.
"Bane?" Shivers ran down Prue's spine at the sensation of his touch. "Bane how did you become a whitelighter?" she shouted only to have her words fall upon deaf ears.
"I'm sure I'm the last person you expected to be by your side in time like this, but I'm here for you Prue." Smiling he brushed a strand of her long raven hair away from here face. "I'm not quite sure what's going here but I'm a whitelighter now, but I guess you already know that" Tenderly he kissed her hand in time with the room filling with explosive orbs.
Andy appeared with Ava just as Bane's lips connected with Prue's flesh.
What the hell? The sight of Bane giving comfort to his wife almost made Andy's head come completely off. Thank Goodness, patience had always been one of his strong points. Biting back a string of curses, Andy gently guided Ava towards Prue.
Caught in the act. Bane could only smile at the look on Andy's face. It was hard and filled with a combination of anger and fear. "Oh here" Bane fumbled a bit releasing Prue's hand as he stepped away giving Ava room.
The young gypsy doctor sat in the chair that Bane had been occupying and started to make a list of observations. From first glance it seemed that Prue's facial muscle's were bit weak as indicated by a slight droop on the right corner of her mouth. "The tears are a definite sign that she is conscious," Ava said. "Her body is also paralyzed"
"Paralyzed? NO…NO…Ava you have to be wrong, I can't be paralyzed, I'm a reborn again witch from the afterlife remember? These things don't happen to angels do they?"
"Then she can hear us?" Bane jumped in with just little too much eagerness for Andy. The Tracer stepped forward; only to have Leo grabbed the forearm of his leather jacket.
"YES! YES! I can hear you!" Prue screamed silently.
Andy glared at his brother in-law while Ava continued with her explanation.
Most definitely: It is quite possible that Prue is aware of everything around her. If fact I'm a quite sure that inside of her head, that Prue is fully conscious only her body is paralyzed."
"What do you mean she's paralyzed?" Andy roared brushing past Bane and standing just so that he was blocking the new white lighters view from Prue. "How can that be possible Ava? It has to be spell, right?"
No, I believe that Prue has had what we call a stroke Ava replied calmly repeating what Leo had said earlier. "Just because we are blessed with the gift of magic doesn't mean that we aren't susceptible to human disease" Case in point, the girl's grandmother, Penny had died of a heart attack. Now I'll need to take her to the hospital where I can examine her properly and give her a dose of Fentanyl which should help with the paralysis"
"No…No…I don't want to go to the-" Prue started to protest but calmed as she felt Andy swooped her up. She couldn't help but feel comforted by the smell of his leather jacket and his embrace. "Andy" she sighed thinking about how much they needed to talk out things.
Ava held on to the corner of Andy's jacket preparing to transport while Andy smirked at Bane, "I hope you don't mind, but we're going orb . . .alone!"
Bane felt his jaw clench as the tracer and doctor disappeared with Prue.
"I think that is best you concentrate on your purpose here" Leo said as Bane continued to watch the spot where Prue had been on the couch. "Your first responsibly lies with the care of your charge"
Bane just smiled a wolfish grin. "Yeah but you gotta understand, I've been locked away for eight years and even now Prue Halliwell is still…" She was all he'd thought about during his incarceration.
"She's married with magical three kids whose destiny's are all connected to her parents love," Leo returned, "Not to mention it's still against the rules for white lighters and witches to be together"
"Is it now?"
"Paige!" Piper struggled against her restraints as Paige entered the dungeon carrying a large watering can. She was dressed in a set of emerald medieval robes and a golden tiara.
Paige stopped just short of Piper's head. "My, my what do we have here?"
"I'm your sister damn it!" Piper rolled her eyes upward and continued to struggle. "And I demand that you stop this stupid game and untie me"
"Oh…no…no…" Paige wagged a finger, "First of all I was born an only child and second of all you are in no position to make demands" Paige then proceeded to dump the water from the can directly on Piper's head, causing her scream with rage.
"PAIGE!"
"Enchantress Paige" her younger sister corrected before handing the watering can to an underling. She waited for the servant to refill the can and then proceeded to sprinkle the contents over Drake.
"And how is my prized catch today? Still ranting that you're demon who's been sent here to save me?"
Drake could only turn his head as the water splashed over his face in more than degrading manner. "Even if it cost me my life,"
"Well it just might" Paige hissed with her hands on her hips. "Now I hope that you enjoyed that. I tried to give you a little extra today since Glendrous and I are traveling to another plane to fetch our daughter.
"Glenda?" Piper's dark eyes jerked open wide trying to shake the cold water from her face. "Paige listen to me, Glendrous is not who you think he is. Glenda is not his daughter! He's using you!"
"Hmm…some how I doubt that." Paige sniffed a matter of fact as Glendous appeared sliding his hands around her waist.
"Oh God that's disgusting and you are so going to hate yourself when this all over Missy!" Piper could only groan as she watched them kiss and paw at one another before disappear into a flurry of orbs. Why did Amanda's spell seem to have a stronger hold on Paige and why couldn't Paige see that this wasn't her Glenn?"
"This is so not happening…" Unconsciously Piper banged her head against the dirt causing the vines of the plant to constrict tighter around her body. "Oh would you knock that off before I blow your precious vines to hell!".
Taking her words as criticism, the vine then skillfully wrapped itself over Piper's mouth so that she couldn't speak, forming a makeshift gag.
Angered further the Charmed Witch screamed for all it was worth biting down hard the plant causing the plant to retaliate again this time attacking Piper with it's thorns, injecting her with chlorophyll the substance which gave plants their green color.
"They don't like it when you're hateful to them" Drake quipped residing to his fate as he started to watch blood seep from Piper's pinpoint wounds. Instantly her skin began to reflect a slight tint of green.
"They haven't seen hateful" Piper retorted wishing she had mind based powers like Prue and Phoebe. Prue and Phoebe? That was the answer! She needed the power of her sisters. Digging into the deepest part of her mind, Piper started to recall a spell that Paige had created trying to save the lanterns in the dimension of the lost. "Power of three come to me, settle here so that my sisters are near. Their vanquishing power, I need so that I can save my families seed" A quirkily smile crossed her pale lips as she thought of the last stanza, "seed" It almost seemed to be poetic, she thought as a red flash of powers encircled her body giving her sisterly strength.
With one squint of her eye, Piper was able to send a telekinetic blast to the vine that was holding her wrist captive to ground, destroying it. She then did the same for her alternate freeing it so that she hand complete freedom of her hands. Flexing her fingers she able to send just enough explosive energy to the remaining vines to destroy them.
"Let's see how tough you are now" she sneered blasting the remains of the plant as it tried to scurry away when she jumped to her feet.
"Drake" she needed to get him free she reasoned. But how, unlike her superficial bonds the plant had actually embedded itself into his body. "Okay, just hang on, I think I have a plan but it's going to entail me blowing you up and putting your molecules back together"
Did she say she was going to blow him up? Drake felt like Humpty Dumpty. "Just go save Paige" he muttered, he was dying anyhow, this way was just a little bit quicker: more painful than waiting out the sorceress spell but still quicker.
"You're not getting off that easy or maybe you are" Unsure of her new power Piper closed her eyes and flicked her wrists blowing both Drake and the plant to bits. She then stood for a moment admiring her work of dismembered demon guts and plant parts. "Well that part worked. Now for part two"
"Please forgive me if I'm wrong about this" Concentrating, Piper focused on Drake's remains as she flicked her wrists praying that he would regenerate. Slowly she watched with great anticipation as the molecules of his body went back together like a puzzle pieces.
"Drake are you all right?" Piper was quick to notice that Drake still had a bit of his green hue
"I'm not sure but it beats being a plant" Drake swallowed using his hands to pat down various parts of his torso. He was whole again.
"Do you think you're strong enough to shimmer me home to Paige?" Piper wrapped an arm around the weakened demon letting him lean on her for support. Together they then disappeared into a set of clear waves reappearing back at the manor.
"Where's Paige?" Piper looked about the living room seeing no one. "LEO!"
"He's a little indisposed at the moment" Paige appeared at the bottom of the stairs holding Amanda in her arms. The little girl was wearing the tiara on her head.
"What did you do to him?" Piper growled fiercely watching her youngest sister shrug.
"Nothin' yet…well nothing too much anyhow" Paige motioned to the solarium just in time for Piper to see Glendrous ram a sword through Leo's chest. Bane was already laying on the floor, unconscious and bleeding.
"If I don't get my daughter back, Angel boy over there along with those precious little girls upstairs are all going to die a slow and painful death"
"Paige, you wouldn't…we're you family" Piper begged watching Glendrous again slice into Leo.
"The present Paige probably wouldn't, but I'm not her. Family means nothing to me"
The thought of Paige torturing her own family brought tears to Piper's eyes, "don't make me destroy you Paige"