October 1997
"Victim one, female, mid-to-late twenties, severe puncture wound to the neck, major blood loss, broken collarbone-"
Prue opened her eyes, and found herself looking at a too-brightly lit ceiling. Her neck and lungs felt like they were on fire. "Where am I?" she tried to say, but no sound came out of her mouth. Several heads looked down upon her. "My sister…" she said in a strangled, barely audible whisper. "Did you find my sister?"
"Ma'am, you're at Bay County Hospital, we've got your sister," one man said. "Just try to stay calm, all right?" He placed a mask over her mouth and Prue closed her eyes.
Prue awoke again. She stood at a crystal-clear pond at the base of a waterfall. She was surrounded by tropical trees baring fresh fruit. Soft bird trills filled her ears. Staring at the waterfall, she realized that not liquid streamed from the waterfall, but pure golden light. It was mesmerizing, the way it cascaded from the rocky cliffs into the golden pool at her feet. She was transfixed by it.
"Prudence," said a voice. Rocks on the cliff shifted; the water changed course. In the golden stream appeared Penny Halliwell's face.
"Where am I?" asked Prue, turning to the visage in the waterfall.
"You're in surgery, my darling. This is merely a dream. None of this is real."
Prue stared at the outline of her grandmother's face. "Surgery? What happened?"
Grams tightened her lips painfully. "You don't remember what happened after Piper came home?"
Prue took in a sharp breath as all of her memories came back in a whirlwind: Piper returning home, Prue checking on her grandmother and finding her dead, then being chased by the blond man. He'd bit into her like a-
"That man wasn't a vampire- was he?" Prue asked suddenly. "And Piper- she can't be-"
"They are both vampires, Piper and the man named Leo," Grams said firmly. But vampires aren't real! Prue thought rationally. Anger burned in her chest when she remembered what Leo had said to her. "Isn't this fun?" he had whispered, as he showed her Piper attacking Phoebe. "Look what I've done. It'll be the last thing you see."
"Oh my God- Grams, is Phoebe OK?"
Her grandmother's voice became cold. "Vampires have the power to manipulate the human mind to their will. Piper used her power to destroy Phoebe's."
Prue wasn't sure what her grandmother meant by 'destroyed'. "Did she kill her?"
"Death would be preferable to what she's done to her."
Prue felt her legs quake with unleashed anger. Her hands tightened into fists. "How could Piper do that to her?"
"When one becomes a vampire, the soul dies along with the body. The woman who entered our house tonight was not your sister, Prue. That was a demon with Piper's personality, her memories. Your sister is dead."
Prue wanted to cry, to collapse and curl into a ball. But she lifted her head and swallowed back her sobs. "What happens now?" she struggled to say. "What do I do?"
"I can't tell you what hasn't been written yet. But I have something I must share with you." Prue's sky blue eyes met Grams'. "When I was alive, I was a witch, as your mother was, and your ancestors. You and your sisters were destined to be the Charmed Ones, the most powerful witches in the world." The old woman's face saddened. "But Piper is dead, and Phoebe cannot help you any longer."
Prue stared at Grams disbelievingly. "Then- it's just me, then?" Prue had never been alone her entire life. There'd always been someone to take care of: Piper, Phoebe, Grams. Now there was no one. The paradise around Prue began to fade away.
"It's just you, Prue."
Again Prue woke up; this time she was in a hospital room. Weird dream, she thought. She corrected herself; that dream, and what happened the night before, was too real to be a figment of her imagination.
Prue sat up slowly. A nurse was fussing over her IV. Quickly the nurse propped Prue up with her pillow. "How are you feeling?" she asked Prue. "You lost a lot of blood." Tenderly Prue brushed the bandage on her neck.
"Excuse me?" Prue and the nurse looked towards the doorway, where a man in his early twenties stood. He had light brown hair, pale skin, and warm brown eyes. The man was dressed simply, in light blue jeans, a yellow t-shirt, and a navy windbreaker. "May I come in?"
"It's eight a.m.," the nurse told the young man. "Visiting hours begin at eleven."
"Please? My sister-" The man looked at Prue, a helpless puppy-dog look in his eyes. Trust me, he mouthed. Prue wasn't in the mood to trust anyone right now; but she had a feeling about this guy. The nurse looked at Prue, who nodded.
"Could you excuse us?" the man asked the nurse. Looking annoyed, she left the room.
"OK, so who the hell are you?" Prue asked sharply.
"I'm Gary- Gary Allen." Awkwardly he handed her a bouquet of flowers. "You like roses." Prue nodded. She took them gently, and set them beside on the table. "I know you've just been through something awful-"
"You don't know anything," she snapped.
Gary raised his eyebrows. "Your sister didn't become a vampire, come to your house with Leonus, and maim your family? I must have the wrong room." He walked towards the door.
"Wait!" Prue said. She narrowed her eyes at the stranger; who was this guy? "How did you know-"
"I saw it," Gary answered quietly. "I see things before they happen- I have premonitions. I'm a witch."
"You're a witch," she said unbelievingly. God, in just a few hours, her life was turned upside down! Prue listened as the man continued, "I wanted to help you. I tried to come to your house, to- to do something about the vampires before they could harm you, but I was too late. This morning I came to the hospital, and, well, here you are." He shrugged helplessly.
Prue continued to stare at Gary. "I- I just can't believe this is happening," she said. "Piper wasn't a killer."
Gary walked closer to the girl. "Your sister, her name was Piper?" Prue nodded. "She doesn't exist anymore. What you saw last night was a demon. Leo- the man, I recognized him- infested her with a demon."
That's what Grams said, thought Prue. "So, that thing wasn't Piper."
The man sighed. "Well- not really. The demon infests your sister's soul with evil. What you met last night was your sister, if she had no inhibitions, no anxiety, and really enjoyed hurting people." Gary paused. "I bet she said things. Things she would have never said in life, never have brought up. Now she used them to manipulate you."
Prue remembered what Piper had said. "Poor Phoebe," Piper had said. "You've always felt sorry for me, haven't you? Too plain. Too gangly. Too shy. Too responsible. Too nice." She looked at Gary, tears glinting in her eyes. "This is impossible. My sister was not a killer."
"Your sister is dead," Gary informed her. He watched as Prue sat there silently, tough as stone. The tears in her eyes never fell. Gary couldn't even fathom a guess at what she was thinking.
"How do you know all this?" she asked him. Gary began to finger the crucifix around his neck.
"The Allens, they date back as far as the Halliwells- your family. We've been hunting vampires since the War of the Roses."
"You're a vampire hunter?" Prue couldn't believe this gangly man-child was part of a vampire hunting clan. Maybe if he was playing Dungeons and Dragons, sure.
He hesitated. "Well, I've never really been a fighter. I'm much better with the magical aspect of fighting. I can do spells and simple healings; little things. I'm no Charmed One."
"Well, I'm going to need your help," Prue told him. Her face was like a block of ice, cold and unflinching. "Leo killed my sister, killed my grandmother, turned my sister and nearly killed me too, and I'm not gonna let him get away with it. Those sons-of-bitches vampires are gonna pay for what they did to my family."
The next day, the nurse pushed Prue in a wheelchair down the hall, towards the hospital's psychiatric ward. The doctor explained everything to Prue as they went down the hall.
"We've treated her injuries, but her mind is-" The doctor seemed to be searching for the right word. "-damaged. We've done an MRI, a CAT scan, and had both a psychologist and neurologist assess her. She's been diagnosed with a very severe form of schizophrenia. She's been having delusions of people attacking her. Her speech patterns are disorganized, and yesterday in a group setting, she became violent with another patient and had to be restrained." The doctor turned to Prue, his face emotionless. "The staff's general opinion is that your sister should be institutionalized."
Prue's voice was barely more than a whisper. "Well, it's my opinion that counts, isn't it?" The nurse wheeled Prue through another corridor. They entered a stark white room where Phoebe sat on a bed, looking at the ceiling as if there was something there no one else could see.
"Will you excuse us?" Prue asked the doctor and nurse. Prue uneasily pushed herself over to Phoebe's bed as they left. She took her sister's hand. "Hi, Phoebe."
Phoebe looked at Prue, her eyes focused and bright. "Did you get hurt, too?" Her voice had a naïve, little girl quality in it.
"Yeah, I got hurt," Prue replied.
"They bit me. Here." Phoebe touched her neck bandages. "Her teeth were so sharp, and she hurt me so bad…" Her eyes began to tear up and spill over.
"Phoebe…" Prue could hardly find words to say to Phoebe- it was like talking to a toddler. "Do you wanna go home?"
"Home. They hurt me at home. Do you like ice cream? Because they gave me some. Yeah, mmm hmm, it was yummy. Strawberry, all pink like sunsets. Piper doesn't like the sun. It makes her shrivel up."
Prue was surprised by the sudden subject change. "Um, yeah, she got sunburned one time," she replied slowly, "When we went to Disneyland. Remember how sunburned we all got?"
"No! Vampires get burnt," Phoebe insisted like a child. "That's why they hunt at night." Phoebe's demeanor suddenly changed; she looked at Prue suspiciously, her whole body becoming taut and rigid. "Did they send you here? To watch me? Did Piper send you?"
"No, Phoebe-" Prue began.
"Liar! Bitch! Stop it! I won't let you hurt me!" Phoebe slapped Prue's face. Two nurses came into the room, with restraints for Phoebe. Tears spilled over the woman's face. "I'm sorry, Prue…I'm sorry…" Prue stared at Phoebe until a nurse grabbed her wheelchair and took her out of the room. She could still hear Phoebe screaming down the hall.
"Miss Halliwell?" the doctor said, walking up to her.
"Do I have to sign something?" Prue asked solemnly. She couldn't forget what Grams said. "Piper destroyed Phoebe's mind." Leo, thought Prue angrily, thinking of the man who made her sister a demon. If I see you- or Piper- ever again, I'll kill you.
Within a few days, Prue returned home. Phoebe was transferred to a psychiatric facility twenty minutes from the manor, where Prue promised to visit every other day. Gary drove Prue home and helped her into the house.
"Where are you going?" he called as Prue hurried upstairs. She didn't answer, but opened the attic door. She went to the toy chest and began to rummage through it until she found an old book that read The Book of Shadows. She closed the toy trunk and sat on top of it, looking at the book.
Gary came up the stairs, wheezing. When he saw the Book, his eyes lit up. "The Book of Shadows," he whispered. "I didn't think it was real."
Prue blew the dust off the cover, and ran her hand over the symbol on the cover. She opened the book and flipped several pages, not entirely sure what she was searching for. Finally, she found something. She squinted at the page; the words were changing, the letters skipping and reforming on the page. Instead of the spell being about three sisters calling upon ancient magic, it was for one witch; the Power of One. She began to read.
"Hear me now, the words of the witches,
the secrets that we hid in the night.
The oldest of gods are invoked here,
the great work of magic is sought.
In this night and in this hour,
I call upon the ancient power.
Bestow your greatest power on me,
the eldest of the sisters three."
A gust of wind blew through the attic; Gary stumbled and fell back into an old armchair. Prue shut the Book, dust flying around her face. She sneezed, and suddenly an old dollhouse went flying off its shelf onto the floor in a splintery crash. Prue looked at the dollhouse in amazement. "Is that-" Prue began.
Gary's eyes were wide; obviously he wasn't used to such powerful displays of magic. "Your magic," he cut her off. "You're telekinetic."
She nodded, surprised. Prue blinked, shaking off her surprise. "Yeah," she answered. "But we have more important things to do. Finding Leo and Piper. Curing Phoebe." Prue left the room. Gary followed.
September 2001:
Paige Matthews sat down at the bar. She breathed in deeply; she'd been dancing so hard she'd forgotten to breathe. Some random guy had pulled her over to dance, and there was no way to describe how his magnetic pull.
"That was fun." The same guy, blond and dressed in leather, sat on the stool next to her. He grinned at her. "Next song, you wanna…"
Paige glanced down at he watch and grimaced. "Sorry, I can't. Things to do in the morning. It's already midnight." She stepped away from the bar, but the man grabbed her arm.
"Please?" he said innocently. He winked at her.
She laughed at his sweet approach. "I really need to get home," she explained. "I need to call a cab."
"Let me at least give you a ride," he offered.
Paige paused. She didn't know this man really well, and while he was cute, she knew you can't trust every cute guy who comes along.
The man's sweet blue eyes drilled into her head like needles. I could really use a ride, he thought persuasively.
"I could really use a ride," Paige admitted. She smiled and left the club with the man. "You never told your name," Paige said to him.
"It's Leo," he said, wrapping an arm around Paige. The lights of the alley were flickering. Wow, this alley is…dark and perfect for rapists, Paige thought suddenly.
"On second thought-" Paige pulled out of Leo's hold. He continued to smile at her, although now his smile faltered slightly.
"What? You thought you could just use me?" Leo said angrily. Paige backed away from him slowly, and began to fall into something. She turned around, and she was in Leo's arms.
"How-" Paige gasped, until Leo grabbed her swiftly, faster than any human. Paige stopped moving and tried not to shake, trying to remember how to disarm herself the way she'd learned in her Self-Defense class.
"Just kidding about the using, sweetheart," Leo breathed. He stroked the pale skin of her neck. "You've got beautiful skin," he said absently. The man placed his finger on her neck, as if he was feeling for her pulse. Paige turned to look at him, and found two large, ivory fangs growing from his gums. She gasped and tried to break out of his hold, stomping on his feet, elbowing him in the chest. It was useless; he was far too strong.
"Nice neck," he commented casually. "I bet you're a screamer." Leo sank his teeth into Paige. She screamed until she became dizzy, passing out instantly.
From the shadows emerged Piper. To anyone who knew her while she was alive, she was unrecognizable. She was dressed in black leather pants, while a crimson tube top hugged her chest. Her eyes were rimmed with sooty eyeliner and her lips were stained strawberry red, standing out against her milky-white skin. She watched Leo with wide eyes as she played with a strand of chestnut hair.
"You're such a tease," she commented as Leo fed. "You always play with them, talk to them, tease them." She watched her lover drink, looking fascinated. "I just like a good meal."
"The games make it more fun," Leo said with a satisfied grin as he pulled away from the girl's neck. "The sweet talk, the compliments, and then the kill. You remember, don't you?" Piper smiled, recalling the day Leo ended her old life and gave her a new, more fun one. Leo held out Paige's limp body. "Want some?"
Piper moved towards the girl. Leo tilted back Paige's neck for her. The vampiress grinned, exposing her fangs. But before she could feed, she screamed in pain as holy water was thrown on her bare shoulder and arm. Her skin sizzled and burned. Leo dropped the girl and turned around, to see what fool had just harmed Piper. He frowned; he knew this fool all too well.
"Keep away from her," Prue commanded. To anyone who had known her four years ago, she was also unrecognizable. Muscular arms held a stake and a bottle of holy water. Her brown hair was long, stringy, and uncombed, held back by a black bandanna. She was dressed in tattered jeans and an old black t-shirt, the perfect picture of a vigilante vampire hunter. "Or I'll kill you both."
Piper grimaced. "Oh, look, St. Prude. Patron saint of the lonely and annoying."
Leo growled at her, but backed away from his meal, putting his arm around Piper. "Come on, Prue, you know you could never kill us," he said reasonably. He reconsidered his words quickly. "Well, you might kill me, but not Piper. How could you kill your own sister, your own blood?"
"She's not my blood, Leo. The second you changed her, she became your blood." Prue's voice could have frozen water. Bitterness crept into her tone. "And apparently it's easy to kill a sibling. You two did kill Phoebe."
"We didn't kill Phoebe," argued Piper, her tone becoming sour. Just talking with her holier-than-thou sister put the vampiress on edge. "She's alive."
"She may be alive, but not living. She's sitting a mental hospital, being attacked by the demons you put in her head," said Prue harshly.
"It was just a bit of fun," Piper replied, sickeningly sweet.
Leo rolled his eyes and touched a finger to his mouth, wiping away a bit of blood. "Get out of here, Prue. We don't interrupt you during your dinner, do we?" He tauntingly sucked the drop of blood off his finger. Piper grinned.
Prue held out her stake. With a squint of her eyes, the stake soared through the night air, landing right against Leo's chest. The vampire stopped moving warily. If it went through his chest, he'd be dead.
"Stop it, Prue," Piper said quickly, biting her lip with worry. "We'll leave, we'll leave." Prue hesitated, and squinted again. The stake fell to the ground.
"Don't try that again, Prue," Leo spat as he kicked the stake away, his eyes deadly. "Unless you want fangs in your throat- again."
"I dare you," Prue snapped as she picked up the girl's body. "I swear to God-"
Leo sneered at Prue. "There is no God, Prue. Just remember that. It's just us against you. And we always win." The two vampires shape shifted into their bat form, narrowly flying over Prue's head and out of the alley.
Piper and Leo reformed just outside a nightclub in downtown San Francisco. When Piper and Leo walked into the bar, it was packed. It was filled with vampires feeding, talking, fighting. In the corner was a child, locked inside a large birdcage. Some vampires poked at her, touched her. The little girl cried and shook the bars weakly.
Piper stuck her hand in the cage, smiling, but Leo pulled her back. "Later," he promised, taking her away.
A few vampires were sitting at the bar, close to the rear exit. "Excuse me?" Leo asked them coldly. The vampires turned to him, scowling, but their expressions changed when they realized the vampires they spoke to were none other than Leo and Piper Leo, who had been turned during the Dark Ages, had built up quite a reputation, as had his mate Piper in her first four years as a vampire.The two vampires hurried away, muttering apologies.
Piper settled herself onto a stool as Leo headed behind the bar, grabbing them two glasses. "I'm sick of Prue interrupting our meals, waving around her cross like she's a goddess," Leo said, infuriated. "Let's kill her."
"Now?" Piper asked tiredly. She licked her fingers and placed it on the burnt flesh where Prue had sprayed her holy water. The skin began to heal slowly. "Another night."
Leo slammed the bottle of blood on the table, shattering the glass. Several vampires looked in their direction. Piper jumped up as a piece of glass nearly scraped her cheek. "Always another night," he said, his voice soft but temper nearing its breaking point. "You say that, and nothing comes of it!" His voice hardened and his hostility grew. "Sometimes I think you still care about them. Prue and Phoebe."
Piper glared at him, her eyes narrowed and malicious. "How dare you," she spat. "They're just humans." She looked at Leo, who was tired, humiliated, and looking for a fight. The vampiress sipped from her glass, and it brought a rosy flush to her cheeks. "I didn't eat tonight, and I don't feel good." She pouted her lips. "Please don't yell at me." She swiveled her bar stool away from him, facing the wall. "I might just leave."
The humbled vampire stepped around the bar, wrapping his arms around Piper. "I'm sorry, Piper," Leo said. She sighed. "Please, please don't be mad. You know I'm a terrible, terrible person. Forgive me?"
Piper let a smile crawl onto her face as she turned to face Leo. "Only if you're a very good boy from now on."
Leo leaned into her, putting his face near her ear. "What if I'm a very bad boy?"
The vampiress laughed and stood, transforming into a bat. She flew out of the bar, with Leo just behind her.
Prue attempted to carry the girl out of the alley. Waiting on the street was her van. "Gary!" she called out. The man got out of the car, carrying the victim's legs with Prue. They laid her down in the back of the van and slammed the door shut. He climbed into the driver's seat. "Back to the manor-now," ordered Prue as she jumped in the passenger's seat and closed the door.
"Piper and Leo?" asked Gary, nodding his head to the girl in the back. Prue nodded.
"God, Gary, I can't believe I let them go," Prue said, furious with herself. " I had Leo. I could've slayed them- but I didn't."
"I'm sure you'll get the opportunity again," Gary replied, keeping his eyes on the road. "No one ever said the vampire slaying business was easy." He gave her a small smile. "And those who did got themselves killed."
Prue nodded as she stared out the window. It was nearly twelve-thirty, but people were still on the streets, walking and laughing. Was I like that? She thought back a few years. When she received her power, she immediately started training in martial arts and training to improve her magic. In four years, her telekinesis was perfect, and she could kill just about any vamp. But she'd been so wrapped up in slaying that she was fired from the museum, and Roger had called off their engagement. She hadn't dated since. She slept during the day and hunted at night, leaving no time for a real life or job. She and Gary had taken out another mortgage on the house. The only time she left the house was to visit Phoebe in the San Francisco Psychiatric Hospital last week, and she seemed to be becoming crazier every day. But at least she was a good vampire hunter; she saved dozens of lives every night. That made up for having no life. Doesn't it? wondered Prue.
They pulled into the driveway of 1329 Prescott Street. Gary and Prue hauled the woman up the front steps and into the house. Prue ran into the kitchen as Gary set the victim down on the couch, assessing her injuries. She had lost an average amount of blood for someone attacked by a vampire; she'd live.
Prue came back, holding a jar of something called VAMPIRE BALM and a first-aid kit. Gary took some of the balm and rubbed it on the woman's wound. Instantly the redness around the holes faded and they slowly began to close. Then he took a compress from the kit and put it on her neck, sealing it with medical tape.
"She'll be fine," he told Prue. "She didn't loose that much blood." The woman stirred; she slowly opened her eyes.
"Hi," Gary greeted her gently. The girl blinked several times. "What's your name?"
"Paige. Paige Matthews," the girl replied weakly but steadily. "Who are you?"
"Gary Allen. This is Prue Halliwell. We brought you here after you were attacked. How do you feel?"
The girl looked confused for a moment, then her eyes widened. "You mean- that man- really was a vampire?"
Prue nodded. "But vampires aren't real!" Paige argued.
"Sure they are," Prue told her coolly. "Vampires, demons, all of them. They're disgusting monsters. They feed off the living, then kill them, or make them their slaves. Sometimes they sire them, make them one of their kind. They're all obsessed with sex and murder, and will do anything to eliminate human kind."
"Oh, Prue, what a lovely picture you've painted," Gary quipped. Prue didn't smile. The man gave her a disbelieving look. "Come now, Prue, not ALL vampires are quite as… ruthless as that."
"Sure they are. Especially when it comes to Leo and Piper," she said coldly, saying their names as if it physically hurt her to make out the syllables. "They're evil. Speaking of which, I should be out hunting. Can I have the keys?" Gary tossed them to her. Prue caught them and left the manor without another word.
"She's just a burst of sunshine, isn't she?" Paige cracked. She was very pale, Gary noticed. "Are you all right?" he asked. "Everything about vampires- it's hard to learn in one night."
"I'm OK. Actually, this all makes sense," Paige told him. "I've known people who went partying, then I never see them again. I guess they got killed or vampirized."
"Vampirized isn't a word," Gary corrected automatically. "When a human becomes a vampire, they're sired. And the person who is sired becomes the sire's childe."
Paige nodded and sniffed the air. "God, what reeks?" she asked.
He held up the jar of VAMPIRE BALM. "Sorry, it doesn't have a lovely aroma."
"What's in it?"
"Angelica, lemon balm, cinnamon, coconut, garlic, horseradish," he recited. "Magical herbs."
"Magic?" Paige wondered, looking amazed. "Don't tell me wizards are real, too."
Gary shook his head. "Not wizards- witches are real. Proud witch for twenty years. I do spells, potions, you name it. So's Prue."
"Do you have, like, powers?"
"I can see the future."
"Cool. You couldn't happen to tell me this week's lottery numbers, could ya?"
He smiled; Paige guessed he didn't do it often. He couldn't've been much older than she was, but the worry lines around his eyes were deep. "No, I don't see those kind of things. I usually see a lot of death." One of the ends of the medical tape was unsticking on Paige's neck. He pressed his finger on it, making it lay flat. Suddenly he froze, eyes hazy.
"Gary? Gary!" Paige said fearfully as she joggled his arm. He couldn't hear or feel her touch. Instead, he was lost in a horrifying black-and-white world. An earthquake rocking San Francisco, destroying everything in its path. From it rose a pale woman with ebony hair and eye, her mouth stained crimson: the Vampire Queen. Then he saw Piper and Leo laughing as they watched demons and vampires ravage the city. He saw his face, his face and Paige's- but fangs emerged from their mouths, as their lips dripped with blood. A large stone tablet covered in an ancient, unreadable text.
Suddenly Gary was knocked out of the premonition. Paige was shaking him. "Gary? Are you OK?"
He turned to her, frightened. "No," he replied slowly. "No, not really."