Disclaimer: I do not own anyone or anything, except for Prue's kids.

Author's Note: Thank you for the review. It was much appreciated. :) Reviews are my inspiration, by the way, as it lets me know that people are actually reading my story. So if I don't get a review for a significantly long period, while I will still update eventually, the updates will be significantly slower than they would otherwise be, as for all I know I did something wrong and no one's even reading this anymore.

To answer the review I got, no. No one will be losing the Twice-Blessed destiny. I hated that they did that in canon personally.

The All or Nothing

[Scene: Halliwell Manor. Prue, Piper, Phoebe, Paige, Cole, and Leo are there. Phoebe and Paige are going through the Book of Shadows.]

Phoebe: The first witch? We're up against the first witch? Is that anything like the first Slayer?

Leo: Um, no. Not really. Although….

Paige: Leo, you can't be serious.

Piper: Who is this woman?

Leo: She calls herself Neena now, but she was born before names.

Prue: So, what? She's a warlock now? An evil witch? What is she up to?

Leo: I wish I knew.

[Scene: The Heavens. Neena and Rennek are assaulting the Heavens with an army of demons.]

Neena: Push them back! The upper regions will be ours!

Rennek: You do get that your evil army isn't strong enough to defeat the Elders?

Neena: Yes, but by the time any of them realize that, it will be too late.

[Scene: Halliwell Manor. Prue, Piper, Phoebe, Paige, Cole, and Leo are there.]

Leo: Her tale begins many years ago.

Paige: Don't they all.

(Leo takes the Book of Shadows.)

Leo: You won't find the answers in there. (Leo closes the Book.) You have to understand what you're dealing with. Until you know about her, you can't confront her. She's too dangerous. From what I pieced together, it began in the early days of humanity, back when the world was a dark and tumultuous place. A spiritual energy runs through everything that exists. Neither good nor evil, it is part of us. Part of the earth, the air…. Everything. The Elders refer to it as the All. You think the nexus under the manor was powerful? It barely registers when compared to the nexus of the All. Thousands and thousands of years ago, a woman came across that nexus. She alerted her mate to what she had found. At first, they were too afraid to go near it. Even from a distance, they could feel its power. But she pushed past that fear. She tapped into the power, and was infused with more of the All than any human was intended to possess. The woman shared that power with her mate, and it changed them. Made them immortal, made them invulnerable. It bonded them forever, both to one another and to the All, creating a state of consciousness beyond the known physical universe: the higher realm, a place of pure and utter bliss that they shared with the All. But their presence there affected the Earth. Their magical bond contained the All in the higher realm, and thus the world started to die. The only way to save it was to separate the powers, to allow the power of the All to flow freely again..The woman and man were forced to abandon the higher realm, never to return again.

[Scene: The Heavens. Neena, Rennek, and the demons are still assaulting the Heavens. A demon kills an Elder.]

Elder #1: Retreat!

Neena: Press on, my demon horde! Press on!

Rennek: Having fun?

Neena: You can't begin to imagine.

(The remaining Elders retreat through the gates of the afterlife.)

Elder #1: Hurry up! You're almost there!

Neena: Run, Elders, run!

Elder #2: We can't let the demons cross the threshold!

Elder #3: Close the gates, close the gates! (The Elders close the gates.) This is not a permanent solution.

(Neena looks at a large demon.)

Neena: Impedimentia, guard the gates. Make sure the Elders don't pass. We've got things to do before they have time to regroup.

[Scene: Halliwell Manor. Prue, Piper, Phoebe, Paige, Cole, and Leo are there.]

Phoebe: You know, this whole story is sounding kind of familiar.

Paige: Ya think?

Leo: Many belief systems grew out of the same source material.

Prue: Okay, Leo, we got it. The first witch is really strong.

Phoebe: And not exactly a witch as we traditionally define witches.

Leo: Wait. The story isn't done. Once back on Earth, the woman gave birth to a pair of children that were conceived while she was in the higher realm. The first child had powers like her mother, just not as strong. It is from her that most natural-born witches descend. The second child was born with the same abilities, but he twisted the magic for darker purposes and gave rise to warlocks.

Paige: I thought warlocks were just witches that turned evil?

Leo: They are, but some are born that way too. The other children they had - the ones that came later - had no powers to speak of, but they and their descendants could tap into the magic as witch practitioners. In very rare cases, these non-magical descendants can give birth to a full witch, but this can upset the Grand Design. Your family didn't just come into the magic. You're part of her bloodline.

Phoebe: Where's the guy in all this? Her mate or whatever you want to call him?

Piper: Leo?

Leo: You're not going to like the answer.

Prue: Nothing new there.

Leo: He eventually returned to the higher realm, without her.

Paige: Okay, all those suddenly on Neena's side, raise a hand.

(The girls all raise a hand.)

Phoebe: Seriously, Leo? He could go back?

Leo: Every time a witch is born into the All, she inherits a tiny piece of the All. Not a lot, but enough that she can channel it into an active power. With every new descendant, the All began to weaken. It was spread too thin. It needed to reclaim some of the magic that it had lost. It needed one of them to return. But he didn't abandon her. Not by choice. One day he was just… gone. And she was alone, for the first time in forever. They had no control over what happened to them. His return to the higher realm had become part of the Grand Design. The Elders were forced to make a decision. They chose him. As we all know, you don't mess with the Grand Design.

[Scene: The Heavens.]

Rennek: How long before they regroup?

Neena: We've got time. The Elders were always better at hiding than fighting. (Neena, Rennek, and the demons arrive at the vault door.) Let's crack this sucker open.