A/N: So, this is the second to last chapter to my final two part chapter, I hope that I haven't lost any of you or your support during this time, But anyways enjoy and remember to review.

Chapter 26: Prepare.

It had been chaos as soon as Sif had left, everyone talking at once. "We can't seriously trust him can we?" Wyatt said

"What choice do we have Wyatt?" Piper said

Wyatt didn't say anything and Scarlett spoke before he could retort anything "Piper's right Wyatt…We don't have a choice here"

After that, they dissolved into sections of asking the elders for help and making potion after potion in preparation of what was too come the next morning.

"So we have freezing potions, paralysis and standard vanquishing potions" Piper listed and Scarlett nodded before she spoke "You know I could always ask Sev to brew us some other types, he has mastery in potions. I'm sure he could whip something up"

"Good idea" Piper agreed and she hurried off to simmer another vanquishing potion that was bubbling.

Scarlett walked back to the living room and sat down in the grate. She ignited the fire and threw in a pinch of floo powder she always left at the manor saying "Prince Manor" and the flames raised and turned green, she stuck her head into the flames and resisted the urge to shudder, she'd never been particularly fond of floo, and stuck her head out of the grate.

"Miss Halliwell, to what do I owe the arduous pleasure?" He asked silkily swooping down and looking at her disembodied head.

"We have a lead to the duo and we're going in, and what with you being a world renowned potions expert I was wondering whether you could gift us with a few vials" She asked slipping in a compliment to hopefully make him more inclined to help their cause.

"Is this source of your lead reputable?" He asked

"Of sorts" She said and cringed at her own uncertain voice

"Of...Sorts?" He repeated raising an eyebrow "And why would I trust a lead that has no solid ground"

"It was from the inside" She said defending Sif and his possible clue.

"Hmm…I shall brew those potions and send them via floo, they should arrive sometime this afternoon" He said standing to his feet and she released a breath

"Thank you Sev, Really" She said sincerely

He didn't say anything and took that as a sign to leave the fireplace before he turned and she saw a strange foreign look on his face, concern. "Miss….Scarlett" She snapped her eyes up to meet his eyes and didn't say anything that might ruin the moment that he was setting "Be careful" He said softly before coughing and adding "I will not waste another of my weekends clearing up one of your messes. Now go" He said sneering, though his black eyes spoke of true concern and she nodded slipping her head out of the grate.

She stood onto her feet and re-joined the kitchen and the conversation that had began in her absence. "The elders refuse to help" Terrence said as Wyatt sat down with a fierce expression

"What! Why" Phoebe asked

"They didn't view this as a suitable battle for them to take part in" Wyatt growled "Stupid cowardly ass holes"

"Wyatt!" Piper snapped at her son who tried to glare indignantly at her before he cowed at the look she had sent him.

"Sorry mum….It's just they sit up there as though I don't affect them but if we lose tomorrow then it's what? Days? Hours before everything else falls too" Wyatt said "Something tells me they wont stop at the magical world"

"You think they'll try to dominate humanity" Paige asked

"Why else would they need an army" Scarlett said rolling a potion between her fingers in a nervous gesture.

No one else spoke until Phoebes mobile rang and she answered it to coop who asked her when she'd be home.

"I'll be home there now honey" She said hanging up she looked at the family giving them a watery smile, she gripped Paige's arm and they orbed away, to spend their last night with their husbands and children; pretty soon the rest of the room followed suit.

Phoebe landed in her hallway and heard the tinkling laughter of her daughter Melinda echoing as well as coop's soft voice joining hers. She smiled and walked in, her husband was laying on the floor with their eldest daughter resting on his stomach and their other daughter in the corner chewing on one of their stuffed toys. "Hey honey" She said and he smiled warmly at her, cradling Melinda to his chest he walked towards her and kissed her softly "Hey we missed you at the park today"

"I'm sorry I wasn't there" She said to him before smiling at her daughter who grinned toothily at her "Hey baby" Taking her from his grip she clutched her first born to her chest. Soon, they four of them were cuddled closely together in their bed, she wouldn't normally do that.

After her upbringing with grams, she knew the boundary's she should take. But tonight she needed to feel them all together. For maybe the last time. Her daughters were asleep next to them both and Coop had stretched his arm to rest below her head. She turned to look at him and saw love shining in his eyes looking back at her "Promise me, that no matter what happens…You'll protect them" She whispered softly feeling a stinging of tears in her eyes.

She wondered if this is how Piper felt when they had left Chris and Wyatt with their dad, right before the big showdown with Billie and her sister. She wondered if piper could relate to the pain in her chest, knowing that she may not ever see her children in person again. That they may grow up only gearing of their mother through memories, like she had. Would she be like her own mother and be a mere ghost in her children who were too young to fully understand what was happening "Of course I will. You know I will" He said looking at her concern now bleeding into his eyes "Of course I will…You know that" He answered and he didn't need to ask her what was wrong, he pulled her closer to him without hurting their two children. He kissed her forehead and soothed her fraying nerves as they slowly drifted off to sleep, neither knowing if they would see the other again.

Paige orbed into her own house after dropping Phoebe off, and she smelled the air and smiled. Henry had made her dinner, she could cook an okay meal but Henry had grown up with the recipes his mother had handed down to him. She slipped into the kitchen and saw him hunched over the stove slowly stirring the sauce as he gently added more dried herbs. She didn't say anything, knowing that after a hard days work in the police department of the bay area he enjoyed unwinding with cooking something. Not that Paige minded, her okay meal was a plain mac and cheese and a few pasta dished piper had taught her over the years.

"Hey" He said smiling at her wiping his hands on a towel "Didn't hear you get in"

"Just got in" She said kissing him passionately "I love you, you know that right" She said looking deep into his eyes

"Of course" He said frowning in concern "I love you too, more than anything" she didn't say anything but moved over to the pan and peered down and smelled the scents he was cooking.

As they ate discussing his new promotion offer, Paige debated telling him. Bu she couldn't form the words so she didn't say anything knowing that it was probably for the best. If he didn't know then he wouldn't worry for her, unlike her sister's husbands, Henry wasn't magical. He couldn't understand the nature of their fight tomorrow or how much rested on it; she didn't want him to worry over it.

She heard him go to the bathroom to take his normal outline of a shower after dinner and she scrubbed at the pan in her hands, she slowly turned the dial on the radio and soon music form some bratty pop star blared on. She could feel her hands shaking under the water as she stripped the silver frying pan of its tomato covering. She could feel one tear escape and all into the washing-up water, but she continued to scrub harder at the pan in her hands.

She stopped and let the pan slide back into the depths of the soapy water as tears began to form quicker in her eyes. She let out one broken sob as she scrubbed at her eyes.

She could hear henry drying him off, would he look for her if she died? Would he spend his life in a 'what if', scenario wondering if she had grown bored of him and left him for newer pastures? She could hear him padding down the stairs and dried her tears using glamour, screw personal gain, and sniffed away the tear residue from her nose. He walked in and looked at her and she smiled and wrapped her arms around his shoulders and kissed him again, slowly forgetting what was to come tomorrow as he wrapped his arms around her waist. She kissed his cheek and walked up stairs hoping he'd get the hint. She heard his soft footfalls and smiled, and as she slipped into her bed with her husband, so too did the fear of tomorrow slip from her mind.

Piper and Leo didn't say anything as they slipped into their bed that night. She burrowed herself into his arms and didn't move, neither did he. They didn't speak, knowing there was nothing else to say, in the years of their marriage and lives together there had been many situations such as these before. Before they had declared their love for each other verbally and physically, they had gathered their children together and slept in one big bed needing to know that for one night it was okay. Now, they didn't do any of those things.

Now there was nothing that they could say or do that they hadn't already done in the past. Piper didn't need him to tell her it would be all right or for him to tell her he loved her. She knew it for certain on one of those things. Now she just needed him to hold her tight so she didn't fly off the handles and reduce herself to panicking in the most un-piper like way she could do.

So they settled down for the night, not removing their hands from each others bodies for even a moment.

Wyatt felt lost as he lay in his bed; everyone had someone to help them through the night. Everyone but him, and he hardly thought that Milton his childhood teddy bear counted as someone to hold onto during the wait.
He had always thought he was truly happy with the bachelor lifestyle he had always led, never feeling as though he was truly ready to settle down with someone for the rest of his life. Chris always matured quicker than he did anyways; he wasn't ready to stop having fun.

But as he stared at the same brown ceiling he felt a weight in his chest, he was ready. He was ready for the 'one' to be in his life, right before the end of the world.

His mum always did say he had impeccable timing for things.

He gave a sigh, feeling a longing in his heart for someone to hold him too. He turned over facing the wall and punching his pillow into a far more comfortable shape and settled down to sleep, vowing to himself that he would live and meet someone who he could enjoy the rest of his life with.

You know, Apocalypse pending.

Scarlett stared outwards towards the street, her legs crossed and an empty cup lying in her lap. Chris was standing in the doorway watching her before making his way slowly over to her. He rested a hand on her shoulder and she jumped and looked up to meet his eyes, her eyes swirling in colour, never staying on one block colour before it jumped to the next.

"I'm scared Chris" She said echoing the night before

"I am too" He said to her sitting next to her

"It's the end….One way or another"

"I know"

"We could die" She whispered

"I know"

"I could lose you….again"

Not saying anything Chris pulled her to him and held her tightly, neither or them speaking. Both savoured the quiet and warmth of each other. Both mapping out the other with their bodies, committing every inch of the other memory, knowing that in that moment it could be for the last time.

It was warm day, the sun standing stark and alone in the sky with not a cloud to cover its rays. It beat own on the street, illuminating everything pleasantly, not offering one inch of darkness to inhabit where it shone down. Far down in the distance, children laughed and joked. Dogs barked and panted running around feeling the warmth permeate deep into their fur.

Scarlett took all of this in, feeling a stone settle in her belly. She felt ill, as though if she tried to speak she would vomit and not stop until she was a mere skeleton on the ground. She felt light headed and far away from this situation as they gathered in attic each armed with a multitude of potions, both their own and Snape's creations.

"Ready" Chris asked as Sif stood left to take his place, lest the duo figure out his betrayal. She nodded to him, not trusting herself to speak and grabbed his hand, knowing she could apparate there but needing to touch him more than ever.

She tightened her grip harder than needed, she was sure that she was leaving marks from her nails.

"Ready" She said softly, finally getting her nauseas feeling to quell for a while.

They orbed.