Hi so here is another chapter, I hope you enjoy this one and I will do my best to bring you the next one sooner rather than later. There are only seven more chapters left of this story but there are more Charmed stories coming so please stay tuned.

And I want to thank you all for your patience in waiting for this chapter, there has been a lot of personal issues going on recently, hopefully they have now been resolved.

There is now only three more chapters left and these will bring us to the end of Season 7. I was planning to do one for Season 8 but it might be more like the final five minutes with the sisters writing in the book to be honest.

Disclaimer-Nothing here is mine just this story.

Please Read and Review .

And thank you all for sticking with this story through the hard times, I appreciate that I have been a bit absent recently but rest assured I am back and so is this story.

Again in case it wasn't made clear in earlier episodes I DESPISE THE ELDERS. There were moments where I legit rooted for the Avatars. At least until...well...Anyway I always wanted the sisters to take on the Elders and finally they did in Season 7 a little.

I tend to do a mass update around Christmas so I will update the final chapters hopefully with this one and bring this story to a close.

Mother Of Invention

Chapter 27-Snowflakes In Hell

As the Avatars make their move the sisters play catch up. Zankou finds himself separated from his family as does Cole and as Leo realises the depths of his mistakes the race is on for the three men to reverse what has happened.

The funny thing was neither he nor Zankou saw it until it came out of nowhere.

Avatars.

Problem was Cole had never heard of them. he had never known of a world without demons and one minute he had been listening to Leo explain it to them and the next minute Zankou had been there. He had arrived and fired something at one of the Avatars and then it had been all out war.

The blast had hit them both and Zankou had grabbed him and then they were gone.

Cole awoke to underground.

"Stop" Zankou said prowling his eyes half mad. At his feet was…

The Book of Shadows…

"What the hell?"

"Avatars. Only came across them once, thought they were an urban myth. They want to create this utopia. Nothing but good, but no bad. And before you say that might be a good thing Cole may I remind you that it means no free will…anything mad must be destroyed. And so I grabbed you and the Book. I don't know how much they will remember upstairs but I know enough to know that if we have the Book then either the sisters or Billie or someone will come and find us."

"And the Book lets you touch it"

"As it does for you"

He nodded. The Book did let him touch it. Didn't mean he wanted to though.

There was a pause and he stood up brushing sand off his thighs and then.

"Billie?"

"I don't know. Couldn't get to her in time. I live in hope"

And that was all he could say. Cole was suddenly aware that he too had a baby that perhaps the Avatars thought was half human, half demon and perhaps half was too much.

Billie looked around and winced.

"Mom?"

"Morning darling girl"

"Okay"

She watched as her Mom made toast. She had woken up in her bed and that she was sure was not the best thing, the right thing anyway. Something was odd. Something was wrong. This was the third or forth time that she had woken up and Leo was gone, Piper was talking about better places…no…something was wrong.

She turned and looked at her mother and…

"Where is Dad?"

"Oh we don't talk about your father darling, not since the Avatars"

And suddenly she smiled. It was like it all made sense. For one second and then the headache from hell came back. Leo was gone, he had caused some kind of scene but Billie had been at school. She had hugged everyone hello and hugged everyone goodbye and when she had come home it was to the news that Leo was not around anymore and Aunt Piper who did not understand why her sons were crying.

And this headache that would not stop.

"Mom?"

"Chocolate spread honey?"

"Mom you don't like chocolate spread."

"No I don't lovebug but you do! And I want you to have everything and anything that you want! The Avatars have granted us this! This is our happy ending baby girl! And if you want chocolate spread on your toast every morning then you will get chocolate spread on your toast every morning!"

Yeah…this was not…she didn't know what this was but she took the plate of chocolate toast and went back to bed.

And she promptly tripped over and nearly faceplanted the rug. She managed to catch herself as she forced herself to her feet and grabbed what she had tripped over shoving her plate of toast back onto the bed.

It was a photo of her and her Mom and her Dad.

There was something very wrong here.

"Yes there is" came a voice and she turned to see another woman staring at her from the edge of the bed. Dark hair long down her back, leather pants and dark eyes and—

"Holy shit Aunt Prue?"

"In the flesh…well…so to speak…and only for a short time. I only get so much time here before the Avatars get me."

"How can they get you?"

"Oh they have their ways, I have to be quick cause Andy is watching the channel. Billie you have to do something radical to stop them. The onus is on you now. Leo tried but he couldn't stop the mess he helped inadvertently create. I love the man to death and back but he really did fall for it this time not that I blame him of course because the real blame lies at the feet of the Elders but still—"

"Aunt Prue!"

"What? Oh yes dear now…you're the one thing that can stop the Avatars, I think. But it's dangerous…exceptionally dangerous and incredibly stupid. So I need you to know that before I tell you what you have to do. And if you don't want to do it then I understand…the world will be fucked but as your Aunt I totally understand—"

"Tell me what I have to do"

There was no two ways around it. She was a Matthews as well as a Halliwell and so if she had to do this then she would. There was a greater good that one had to think about and failing that there was her sanity. She couldn't be raised by a woman who kept saying things with exclamation points behind them. God knows she would never make it to her twenties!

Damn, there she went with the exclamation points again.

"Well" Aunt Prue said. "And believe me I can't believe that I am saying this. Me of all people. Me who thought Cole was bad from the start and now has to concede she was wrong—but—you have to tap into that demon side of you."

Billie straightened up. She did not know why she was the one who had her memories back, or at least part of them, but she knew that this was wrong. The version of the world that the Avatars had in mind did not involve free will, it did not involve justice or truth or law. And it did not involve emotion.

And this was the hill that she was prepared to die on.

You know…without it being so literal.

"Billie"

"Yeah I'm listening. How bad do you need me to go"

Prudence Halliwell smiled.

"How bad can you get?"

Billie nipped her lip.

"I can go bad" she said. "But…but will it hurt?"

It was such a childish question but it was all in that moment that she wanted to know.

"No" Prue said quietly and she smiled this time. "It's quick. Like falling asleep. Mom's gone to get the other part of this plan..."

"She knows?"

"Oh believe me she's not happy but she knows that this has to be done. And she believes come hell or high water in the Power of Three. That's what were all counting on. You are what we are all counting on. You have to do this Billie…you have to do this for the good of the world. For the good of this family…I don't…it's the hardest thing that you will ever be asked to do but we have—they are coming for us next"

"I know" she said through cold lips. "I know what has to be done"

Prue nodded and then she was gone.

Billie nodded to herself and she caught one look in the mirror. She gripped onto her magic and closed her eyes and drew down into that dark part of her that was the magic she had inherited from her father, the shimmering power that she very rarely used, the edge of the cliff of dark magic that she could tip into and she closed her eyes and gripped onto it and then she shimmered downstairs landing in the living room.

At the exact moment a thunderbolt hit the house and her father landed in the living room Cole half behind him. Billie didn't move as he got to his feet.

"Cole?"

"Phoebe?"

"Cole" Aunt Phoebe said and she came down the stairs her big belly protruding and Cole went to stand by her side. For a second they stared at each other and Billie knew whatever spell her Aunt had been under had broken. At that exact moment there was a splashing sound and the babies upstairs started crying.

"Phoebe"

"Oh God. My water broke?"

"Billie?"

That was her father but Billie kept her eyes closed. The dark magic was intoxicating, she imagined it was what being drunk was like, high and drunk and happy, that feeling of utter immortality/

"Billie?"

"Zan…wait what?"

But at that moment as her Mom and Aunt Piper skidded into the room she felt a pressing at her temple and she opened her eyes to see the Avatars there. It was the main two, the men of the group, the woman was no longer there anymore and for a second the one in the goatee stared at her.

"I'm sorry" she said looking at her Mom and then she turned and looked at her Dad.

"I trust you to get me out of this" she said and then she grinned.

Her Dad looked at her and she saw the moment he got what was going to happen.

"BILLIE NO!"

But she was already blasting. She got the other man with the full blast and he hit her back but she was too strong with this dark magic, she was too strong and she managed to get him on the back foot. She felt the magic grip her and she screamed and pushed backwards.

He went flying and then in a moment of flames he was gone. She turned and then—

And then she saw the other one raise his hands and she was gone.

Something had hit her and then…

Nothing.

She was gone.

For a moment she was stunned, so stunned and then.

"No"

Piper had her hands over her mouth, Cole was standing there half in front of his wife who was bent over though weather that was grief or something else—labour perhaps Paige couldn't tell. She was still too busy looking at the spot where her daughter had been…had been what?

Killed?

Killed?

She looked up to see the one man who would know what she was feeling the pain, the sheer force of it, the agony of it pressing down on her, the only man right now who might grasp a fraction of that and she saw Zankou and his eyes met hers.

"I am sorry" came a melodious voice. "But your daughter had be taught a lesson—"

A fireball went his way and then a blast of raw, pure magic that shattered the glass in the house. Phoebe was screaming loud and pure and clear and Piper was shouting pushing past her to get to her kids and Paige was flat down on the carpet because Billie…Billie was dead.

Her baby was dead.

Her baby girl was dead.

Her daughter was dead.

And she was screaming into the carpet horrible noises ripping out of her and she looked up groaning like an animal in pain. Zankou was there looking down at her and his eyes spoke of a thousand and one agonies that she was only too raw with, she felt his pain and he felt hers. Parents who had lost a child. She opened her mouth but Billie was still gone, still dead and so she screamed again into the carpet.

Her daughter was dead.

She had to die with her surely? How did she go on without her child?

Zankou grabbed her by the arm none to gently and he dragged her upwards. Her knees went out and he wrapped one arm around her. Through eyes that were unseeing she saw Cole swing Phoebe into his arms as Piper came down Wyatt in one hand and Chris in the baby sling. Cole gripped Zankou's jacket and Piper grabbed his hand and then they were gone just as another Avatar popped out and threw a potion at her.

They landed in sand and she fell into it crying. Cole put Phoebe down on the couch. Zankou shimmered out and then shimmered back in again in seconds with Daryl who took one look at them and snapped out of whatever funk he was in. Wyatt was silent, Chris was in his mother's arms and Paige was still making those horrible noises because if she stopped then that was to concede that her baby girl was dead.

Zankou came back and he grabbed her by the face his hands pressing into her face and forcing her too look at him.

"We are getting her back" he snarled and there was a depth of an anger there that she could not understand because she was too bogged down in her agony.

"WE ARE GETTING HER BACK" he snarled and she wiped her eyes on the back of her hand and—

"Damn straight you are" came a voice from the corner.

She turned and gasped. Phoebe screamed though to be fair that might have been labour. Daryl went straight for his gun. Cole staggered backwards. Piper moved to protect her sons her face white.

Eventually it was Daryl that spoke as he took in the man and the woman standing there.

"Prue?" he said looking at the woman and then his gaze turned to the man standing next to her who Paige had only seen the once.

"Andy?"

"Damn straight" Prue Halliwell said smiling grimly. "And were here to help you guys save the world. Again"

And YAY! I was looking for an excuse (that the writers didn't use) to bring Prue and Andy back together again. So here we go, I want to say the next two chapters will be the Avatars (Potentially) and then one for Pandora's Box. Potentially an epilogue tipped on to that depending on the next two chapters.

We shall see essentially.

Next Chapter-Prue and Andy are here to save the day, Phoebe is in labour. Zankou and Paige are on the warpath, Daryl has no idea what he is doing there-essentially this is a love note to the irrepressible, irreplicable, Daryl Morris.