So I powered through this and got four final chapters out for you and probably not in the way I intended.

Firstly let me start my dedicating this chapter and this entire story to Shannon Doherty. As Prue she was smart, badass, career driven and should have been in that show from start to finish. Her death is a massive loss to me and to the world and I am sending all my best to her family and friends and I would be remiss if I did not tell you that when writing these final Chapters.

Also there was a Euro's final on tonight, I am English this is being posted after the match, I am fucking gutted. I am gutted full stop writing this so I hope it turned out well. I just turned all my inner ire onto the Elders to be honest.

I love Charmed, I love the fandom, I love the people here who love it as much as I do. But I am going to take a bit of a break after this story and access where I got from there, watching the TV series knowing that Shannon is no longer here is going to be hard enough. So I need to go back to the pad and figure out where we go from here.

Disclaimer-Nothing here is mine.

Please Read and Review.

Let There Be Light

Chapter 23-I'm Beautiful, I'm Smart, I'm Strong.

In which the sisters and the Elders come to the stalemate they all knew was coming. It's ironic that it takes Cole Turner to resolve this.

The secret wedding that took place between Piper and Leo was almost over with when THEY interfered. They took Leo, took Piper's heart with them and took what last of the good will that the Charmed One's had. Prue and Piper and Paige had debated it—Phoebe would have struggled with the entirety of it but between the three of them, the two pregnant witches and the broken hearted one they had said that they were done. No more demons, no more fighting. Done…

It was as Zankou said. It was all they had left to put on the table and there had been to much. Their Mom, Sam, Piper and Leo, Paige and her baby, Phoebe and the life she wanted and Andy and Prue and so they dug their heals in the sand and they waited.

Phoebe when she had heard about this plan had not been too impressed.

"But what about the innocent lives we are suppose to save?" she would ask whenever she wanted to research demon activity or look for a monster.

This week it was fairies and trolls and a little girl called Kate and Piper whose temper was on a short thread with each and every day she heard nothing from Leo threw down her magazine, stalked from the room and said that she was going to the club.

Phoebe turned to Prue.

"We have to be firm on this Phoebe. We need THEM to understand that there are consequences from meddling in our private lives. We need THEM to understand that we have the right to make our choices, our own choices, love who we love and live our lives. We are not vessels to be knocked around for whatever demon that we have to fight this week. There has to be some balance."

"And if a few eggs have to be broken what does it matter as long as the omelette is made?"

Prue stared.

"I don't think that is how the saying goes at all Phoebe."

"Doesn't matter, it's still the same principle. We are still saying it's ok to sacrifice Kate if we don't get Leo back. We are saying that the Charmed One's don't exist and that the balance has been overthrown and…is that something we really want to mess around with?"

Prue could see it. Hell she could agree with it and a part of her did, deep down wonder if maybe they were pushing the boundaries a bit far. But then…the other part of her remembered rocking her sister asleep that night as she screamed and cried over a ruined wedding dress that she had never really realised until that moment how much she had wanted to put on.

"We need to do this for Piper. And…and I think we need to do it for ourselves. What happens if you meet someone, fall madly in love with him and THEY decide that he's not the right man for you? And THEY ship him off somewhere or God only knows what else? What then?"

Phoebe's eyes rested on the phone and Prue knew her sister was thinking about Cole Turner, the mortal ADA who sent her sister's pulse skyrocketing whenever he was in the nearby vicinity.

And that was when Prue knew that Phoebe however much she hated it would back them for as long as she was able.

Paige didn't say anything but she kept her hand on her belly at all time as if she expected the Elders to swoop down and take it from her. Prue did the same. Piper didn't speak.

They tried with a time portal but Zankou turned up and defeated it. Cole Turner turned up with him and that was how they learnt he was a demon. Phoebe had gone and drank for most of the night but it seemed that between the two demons (who clearly loathed each other) there was a plan in place. Both had huge factions of the underworld at their command and with the news that the Source had wiped out the Triad in a fit of angst it was clear that they were all in it for themselves. Demons ran around out in the open but they didn't kill, Daryl took two weeks of leave off and didn't watch the TV but the four of them watched as their home became a hubbub of crime.

When the nymphs turned up horrified at their burning forests Prue turned them away.

"Go to the Elders" she said and she shut the door in the crying girls face.

When it was the leprechauns Paige her hand on her belly gently told them that she was afraid of them and what they might do to her baby and that it was up to the Elders to find out what was happening.

When the whitelighters turned up in their droves they were sent away and when they would not go they were placed in a circle of soundless crystals.

The best though was Piper, Pheobe after two bottles of white wine had decided that she did not care if Cole was a demon and so she had ended up ravaging him in bed for two days and had therefore missed most of it but when Piper her face drab and grey had walked in on Phoebe on her knees…well…you get it she had blown up a light.

Learning that she had that active power had been impressive and then she had stormed downstairs her face filled with ire, kicked aside the crystal on the preaching whitelighter called Natalie and told her that she was getting a ten second head start to get Leo back to her or she was going to be blown back to the battlefields of World War Two.

The woman had thought that she was joking until the first blast had hit her and by the time she had gone Daryl had been on the phone with his office telling them that it was an unusual but random amount of car backfiring and it was probably just kids.

All in all they were bad. They were very, very bad.

And to be honest they kinda enjoyed it…

They did have some of the magical community on their side and others who were scratching their heads. When the gnomes came to see them one of them pointed out that their job was to help them and if not what was the point of them. Phoebe dressed this time had gone and sat with them in the garden and had explained their complicated history with the elders and pointed out to these men that looked at her with wide eyes that they might be witches and that did come with responsibility but that didn't meant that they weren't allowed to love. Love was one of the most powerful things in the world she pointed out…were they to lose it because some men in white robes said they did?

When she had left wiping her eyes with false tears (it was scary how she had done that) she'd had everyone in the palm of her hand and the next day the nymphs had turned back up to hear the story.

While it was clear that many of them didn't see their side they did conclude that what had happened to their mother and Sam was unspeakably cruel. That they had a right to be with the person that they loved or what was the point of good magic anyway?

"I don't mind this" Cole said one morning as he and Zankou watched the four of them sit and have breakfast. "It's kind of a turn on in a way. Like watching the world through a parallel universe. It feels like a war that we might be slowly winning"

"Either way it's a right kick in the teeth for upstairs"

"Indeed. Does that not worry you?"

"Why?"

"You think they will forgive and forget?"

Zankou considered this for a second and then.

"I don't know" he said truthfully. "But if we shake them then they might be so unsure of their own footing that we can iron out some rules of our own"

Cole raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

It didn't take long for the Elders to turn up in person. They tried to send nice ones at first but then Piper had kept asking about Leo, interrupting them, demanding to speak to the one in charge, the one their grandmother had warned them about and then finally one day as the stalemate entered it's sixth week and there was a sense that the apocalypse was beginning all over again did Orian the Elder finally arrive for peace talks.

It was clear that the Elders needed them. And Paige was not naïve enough to think that they did not need the Elders. This was more about lines that could not be crossed and it was Prue ever the older sister that started the conversation and then Piper arguably the most wronged out of all of them that put her foot down and argued for what she wanted.

Paige knew she had never been prouder of her timid sister. The girl Piper had been before she'd had sisters was gone…she was now a woman of fire and magic and boy oh boy did the Elders not know what they were dealing with.

The Elders were playing catch up. Love was one hell of a power to channel.

"And let us be clear" she had said every inch the stern mother. "No vanquishing, no demons, no powers. I don't care if the entire fairy population is being wiped out and they show up on my doorstep destitute I will not help them. And when the magical community calls you and comes to you and asks their Whitelighters why the Power of Three will no longer help the magical community you can tell them why. See how long the fate of the world rests in your hands then. Seriously…if I put together a spell to resurrected the Titan's in order to get my husband back then I will. If people have to die to get him back then I will write Death a note apologising for the overtime today. I don't care if there is a que to find you all and the apocalypse is nigh I will have Zankou go down to the Underworld and then them that it is a free for all with my blessing and I personally think that you will last five seconds before you come begging for our help. And the answer will be. No."

It had been impressive.

And it had been true.

"We do all need a vacation" Paige had piped up. "I was thinking the tropics. I hear that Barbados is lovely this time of year?"

Orion had looked at them, the four of them standing there watching him as if he was gauging their reaction.

He found no chink in their armour.

Funnily enough they got Leo back after that.

And no Elder could dare to cross their threshold.

It was rather peaceful.

They had done what their mother had not been able to and they had won the war.

They were allowed to live with the men that they loved.

Well…a mortal man, two demons and an angel.

But they had it. They had the victory that had been years in the making.

And that was all that mattered.

That night Zankou's hand found her belly and he stayed there for a while and then.

"I don't know how to do this again" he said finally. "Your going to have to teach me"

"I know"

"Do you?"

"You ever considered that I don't know what the hell I am doing either?"

Zankou shot her a look and then.

"Yes I suppose"

She turned and kissed him

"We'll figure it out together"

He nodded and she kissed him again.

Victory Paige decided was very sweet indeed.

I make no apologies for this chapter. None.

Next Chapter-THE FINAL CHAPTER-The sisters get their happy ending. Shorter Chapter.