Disclaimer: I do not own anyone or anything, except for Prue's kids.
Author's Note: Due to complications, I was forced to fuse 9x16 "The Heavens Can Wait", 9x17 "Family Shatters", and 9x18 "Four's Company", as due to Prue and Cole being alive, those three chapters would have come out too short otherwise.
The Heavens Can Wait
[Scene: Magic School. Leo is there looking at a statue of an armored man with wings.]
Female Voice: Leo, I found it! I found it! All these months searching the library and I finally found it! (Leo turns around to see a woman running towards him carrying a book.) I was going through a stack of books I got from an ogre's estate sale and it was right there in front of me!
Leo: Calm down, Bailey. If we tell the students not to run in the halls, we shouldn't either. What did you find?
(Bailey stops and opens the book, leafing through it.)
Bailey: A clue to what you are now. (She stops at a page that has a drawing of the sword.) I know who forged the sword.
(Leo takes the book from her to read it himself and they walk down a hall.)
Leo: That person has to be dead by now. The Elders didn't even know how long the sword was in the vault.
Bailey: Or where it came from, I know. The book says the bladesmith's magical weapons trade passed from parent to child.
Leo: So his descendant might have the answer. But how do I even-?
Bailey: Already found her tucked away in a fortress in the Himalayas. She goes by the name Glynnis.
Leo: Bailey, that's great! If I take the Magic School portal to Nepal, I can fly there in minutes. Thank you. I've been so afraid to use these wings and the sword since I got stuck with them. Not knowing what they are, what they make me…. It will be nice to finally have some answers. Just whatever you do, don't tell- (Leo and Bailey walk into a room to see Prue, Piper, Phoebe, and Paige.) Piper!
Piper: Pretty hard to keep secrets from your wife when her sister can see the future. It's too dangerous for you to go after this person on your own.
Leo: Piper, I'll be fine. I'm just going to ask a question. No need to bring reinforcements. It might scare her off.
(Prue, Phoebe, and Paige all look at a large book open in front of them.)
Prue: I don't think she scares very easily. It says her family has been magical weapons manufacturers for centuries. Probably seen their share of trouble.
Paige: Explains why she lives in a fortress.
Piper: Trust me. It won't end well. Phoebe's already seen it. You need us.
Leo: Well, that's always been true. (Leo removes his Headmaster robe and activates his wings and sword.) Bailey, please keep an eye on the kids. We shouldn't be gone long.
[Scene: Outside the Himalayas Fortress. Prue, Piper, Phoebe, Paige, and Leo are there.]
Prue: Obviously we need more power.
Piper: Our explosions should have at least scorched the doors.
Leo: If we can't blast them, orb through them, use my sword on them, or kick them in, then how do we get them open?
Paige: Maybe we should try knocking.
Phoebe: Why not?
(Phoebe goes over and bangs on the doors.)
Paige: I was kidding.
Phoebe: Maybe we need to rethink this. Don't come at it hard. Premonition aside, maybe this woman doesn't get a lot of guests and would like some visitors.
(The doors open to reveal dozens of levitating swords aimed straight at them.)
Piper: I'm thinking she's more the antisocial type.
Paige: I can't orb. Whenever I try to, some magical force presses against me.
Leo: The room must be guarded against Whitelighters. Luckily, you're more than just a Whitelighter.
Prue: That gives me an idea. Paige, you'll need to hold your shield around us as long as possible.
(Paige puts up her orb shield around the five of them.)
Piper: Sweetie, why don't you lose the wings to give us some room?
Leo: I'd prefer to stay armed. Let's see if I can split the sword from the wings. (Leo's wings disappear but the sword remains.) There! But it kind of hurts to have one and not the other, so let's get moving.
Prue: Phoebe, take us up.
(Phoebe levitates them up off the ground.)
Phoebe: I can lift us, but I can't get us all the way across that room.
Prue: It's okay. Piper, can you manipulate the air molecules to fly us across?
Piper: I can try.
Prue: I'll move everything out of our path.
Piper: Here we go.
(Piper flies them all across while Prue telekinetically deflects all of the weapons that gets thrown at them.)
Phoebe: Anybody else feel like Glinda the Good Witch?
Paige: My shield is getting weaker.
Phoebe: And I can't keep us all up much longer.
Leo: Just hold on. We're almost there.
(They make it to the other side. Phoebe puts them down, Paige puts down the shield, and Prue and Piper stop using their powers. Leo's wings come back out. A woman dressed as a blacksmith, Glynnis, comes out of nowhere and threatens them with a sword.)
Glynnis: Who dares enter my armory without an invitation?
Leo: I'm sorry. We don't mean to intrude. We just have a question.
Glynnis: How is it you possess the Empyreal Sword?
Leo: You know what this is?
Glynnis: Of course I do. That weapon was forged by my ancestor over two thousand years ago. But it was never to be used.
Leo: Please. Can you tell us what you know about this sword? I need to know what I am.
Glynnis: I assume that you are a Whitelighter. Only they can wield the sword.
Leo: Yes, well, that's a complicated story.
[Time lapse. Prue, Piper, Phoebe, Paige, and Leo are still speaking to Glynnis.]
Glynnis: That is odd. The sword must have united with whatever remains of the Whitelighter in you. That's a problem.
Piper: Problem? Why is that a problem?
Glynnis: The Empyreal Sword wasn't meant to be wielded by a mortal. It is too powerful a weapon for a mere human.
Leo: It did take a lot out of me when I used it against Neena's army. And my back was killing me for the next week.
Glynnis: The wings were also created with a magical being in mind. I'm surprised that human muscles can control them.
Piper: Is there some way to separate the sword from him? And the wings?
Glynnis: No. Once they were fused with the Whitelighter, it was intended they would belong to him for eternity. It's no surprise that the Elders don't recall what the sword represents. It comes from a time in their history they would sooner forget. When Whitelighters were first conceived, there was much debate over what role they would play. Some saw them as avenging angels, warriors in the fight against evil. The sword was to be their weapon, the wings part of their armor. Others felt they should only serve as guides, mentoring the good beings of the magical community. The debate nearly tore the Heavens apart. It was ultimately decided that Whitelighters would be guides. The prototype sword was locked away, never to be used. Until now. As long as you avoid calling on the sword, it should be harmless to you. But every time you use it, it could drain some of your life force.
Piper: It's a good thing our lives are so peaceful that there's never really a need for him to defend himself.
Glynnis: I will see if there is some way to separate you from the sword and wings.
Leo: Thank you. It would mean a lot to my family.
[Scene: Magic School. Headmaster's Office. Leo is there working when he is black orbed out.]
[Scene: Cave. Leo black orbs into a cell made of black orbs. Rennek comes up to the bars.]
Leo: Rennek. I should have known it was you. (Leo activates the wings and sword.) How did you orb me out of Magic School? How did you orb me anywhere? That's not a darklighter power.
(Rennek makes the cell disappear with a wave of his hand.)
Rennek: Put those things away before you hurt yourself. You'd be surprised how the powers of darkness were affected by a little infusion of the Source. It's more than enough to kill you a hundred times over.
Leo: And yet, you haven't killed me, like you didn't kill me earlier with Neena.
Rennek: That's because I need you, Leo. I need you.
[Time lapse. Cave. Leo and Rennek are fighting, Leo with the Empyreal Sword and Rennek with a sword made of black orbs. Leo's wings are out.]
Rennek: Give it up, Leo! You're no match for my powers, now.
Leo: I've already given you the slip twice without any magic. At least now I've got a sword.
Rennek: A sword that requires magic to wield.
Leo: I just need to hold you off until-
(Rennek knocks him back and Leo drops the Empyreal Sword as he falls back with a yell.)
Rennek: Until the Charmed Ones come save you? Oh, Leo. That's not going to happen. At least, not until I wish them to. This place is cloaked.
(Rennek holds out a hand and binds Leo in chains made of black orbs.)
Leo: Either kill me or release me, Rennek. Get it over with.
Rennek: As I've already said, I need you alive, Leo. You have something I want. Information you don't even know that you possess. (Rennek goes over and strokes Leo's cheek.) Life's funny, isn't it? You live all these years unaware of the useful information you collect. Look at you. Whitelighter, Elder, and now bonded with the Empyreal Sword. With each new power came a new understanding of the magical world around you. Knowledge hidden deep in your subconscious. (A humanoid demon with no eyes, a stitched-closed mouth, and wearing robes suddenly appears.) I just need a little help getting it out.
[Time lapse. Leo is there, unconscious but no longer in chains, but Rennek is gone and the other demon has been killed, a darklighter arrow through his heart. An opening into the cave is suddenly blasted open, revealing Prue, Piper, Phoebe, and Paige.]
Piper: Leo! (They see Leo and Piper runs over and kneels down beside him, while the others go to examine the dead demon.) Leo? Leo, are you okay?
Leo: I think so. Rennek…. I don't… I don't know what he did to me.
Prue: I don't think we're going to get any answers from this… whatever this is.
[Scene: Halliwell Manor. Living Room. Prue and Piper are sitting there talking.]
Prue: Still no idea what Rennek was up to?
Piper: Not a clue. Physically, Leo seems fine. But we're no closer to any answers.
Prue: I'm sure we'll figure it out.
[Scene: Outside the Halliwell Manor. Rennek is outside watching the manor.]