Disclaimer: Certain quotes are taken directly from the season three episode, All Hell Breaks Loose, and are being borrowed for this chapter. No infringement intended.
IDontBreakBonesJustHearts: Wow, I'm honored that you find my story really good to read. This is my first fanfiction ever, lol, so that's a very high compliment. Thank you for taking the time to read and review.
Author's note: From this point forward, Michael and Marie will now be addressed as who they really are. Prue and Andy. The "secret" is out to the sisters.
Chapter 11: We Sisters - FOUR?
Present
Piper and Leo orbed back into the manor, both feeling slightly nervous and a bit perplexed. They had just returned from the Underworld where they had encountered no signs of Phoebe, Paige, or Billie anywhere.
"Leo, they should have been there!" exclaimed Piper. "I know that's the location we came up with after we scried!"
"Well, maybe they scried again, and the location changed," he suggested, shrugging his shoulders in the air.
Although, truth be told, Leo was having his own doubts. He had tried using his sensing abilities to grab a location while they were down there but he picked up nothing. That had him concerned but he didn't want to add to Piper's worries.
Piper shook her head. "No, no. Something's got to be wrong." She paused before continuing. "Dammit!" she berated herself out loud. "What was I thinking letting them go off on their own like that?"
"Piper, calm down," Leo soothed. "We don't know for sure that they're in any trouble."
Piper was about to argue against him when a flutter of blue and white orbs settled into the manor. This caught their immediate attention, so they turned around and walked in the direction of the orbs. There, in the center of the Halliwell living room, materialized Dimitri flanked by two senior- looking Elders.
"Dimitri?" Leo addressed one of the men. "What are you doing here?"
Leo caught the solemn expression on his face. Uh-Oh! This can't be good, he presumed. He then looked to the other two Elders whose faces remained stoic and unreadable.
"Leo?" Dimitri began in an unsteady voice. "You and Piper may want to sit down for this. What we have to tell you is very serious."
Piper's heart rate started to pick up, but she didn't utter a word. In this moment, her thoughts were pleading with the universe that this news had nothing to do with Billie or her sisters.
X
Phoebe's eyes fluttered back open, her sight taking in the bleak surroundings above her. She could make out a voice somewhere in the distance as she tried to gather her senses back in order.
Was that Paige?
Where the heck were they anyway? Then suddenly it hit her like a ton of memory bricks.
Oh, that's right. We're demon fodder!
She brought one hand up against her forehead. But wait! There was something else. Something she thought she had seen. No, not something. It was someone she thought she had seen.
"Oh my god, Prue!" Phoebe exclaimed, bolting upright. Had she been hallucinating right before she passed out?
Nope.
When she sat up, there a few feet in front of her, stood the woman she had come face to face with. The woman was identical to her dead sister.
How could this be?
Without giving it a second thought, Phoebe reacted on her emotions. She was on her feet rushing towards the woman. She could feel Paige trying to pull her back and she heard her sister's words of protest somewhere in the recesses of her mind, but she didn't let that stop her. She wouldn't let that stop her.
"No, Phoebe, wait!" hissed Paige through clenched teeth.
But it was too late.
Phoebe threw herself at the woman, squeezing her in the tightest embrace she had ever given anybody. As words mixed in with sobbing, Paige and Billie were helpless to do anything except watch. "Prue, oh my god! I can't believe it's you! I've missed you so much, we've missed you so much," she corrected. "There's just so much I want to say. And I'm so sorry, it's all my fault. All of it! I never should have left you and Piper alone. Shax wouldn't have gotten to you if I had been there," she confessed openly.
Paige looked away.
Phoebe carried a lot of guilt since that day. It was a feeling she had learnt to repress through the years but every now and then it would resurface. She mostly kept this to herself.
Prue stood motionless, her eyes widening. She felt the shock, as the woman suffocated her inside of the most demonstrative embrace. "Whoa! Okay?" she began patting the other woman's back. This was awkward. This stranger was pouring her heart out to her. Prue had absolutely no idea who this woman was or what she was even apologizing for. However, while listening to the sorrowful confession, she just didn't have the heart to push the woman away. So, she accepted the embrace before slowly trying to back out of it.
Paige watched the emotional scene before her, feeling a tinge of jealousy creep into her. She didn't mean to feel that way, honestly, but when she thought about Phoebe and Piper not once had they ever shown that much emotion over her welfare. Not in all the years they fought demons together or during the times she had come close to losing her own life. But just as quickly as the jealousy had made its way in, so did the feelings of guilt.
That's really not fair of me, she thought. They actually lost Prue and they were emotionally dependent on her for years. Way before I ever came along.
Billie also stood watching the scene. After this entire ordeal, she just felt numb. It had only been a few short hours ago that she found out the truth. Which was that she was part of a magical dynasty that all demons sought to annihilate. Unbeknownst to her, it was the same magical family she had spent over a year of her life training with. Then, thanks to this newfound heritage, the Power of Three went on a permanent hiatus less than a few hours ago.
That was great, just what the magical community needed, right?
Not.
It's not like all that wasn't bad enough. Now because she couldn't keep her emotions in check, she had led them all into this stupid trap. Ironically, a trap which just led them to another Charmed One long presumed dead.
Prue finally maneuvered herself away from Phoebe. "Listen, obviously you're very upset and I'm sorry about that. But I'm not who you think I am," she tried correcting. Truthfully, though, she was having her own doubts.
Confused, Phoebe used her sleeve to wipe away some of the tears underneath her eyes. "What are you talking about, of course you are," she shook her head, unable to take her eyes off the sister she hadn't seen in over five years.
"No, I'm not!" Prue denied. Was any of this a coincidence anymore? Too many people had now mistaken her for this Prue.
At that very same moment, Paige rushed forward to pull Phoebe back by her arm. "Um, sorry about that, but would you just excuse us for one minute?" a quick smile was flashed Prue's way. Prue nodded as Paige whispered against Phoebe's ear. "That's what I was trying to tell you! I don't think she knows who she is," she informed her.
Phoebe stared back at the woman she believed to be Prue. "How do you know that?"
Billie overheard the question, so she walked over to stand with them and huddled between both sisters. "Because the whole time you were passed out, she kept insisting she was somebody named Marie," she whispered. "And she has no idea where she is let alone how she got here."
Billie had no idea how to react. This woman was practically family yet a stranger at the same time. What would she even say to her? Oh, hi, I'm the daughter you don't remember having. Sure, that would go over really well considering the reaction she just had to Phoebe. She didn't want to give the woman a heart attack. That would really make her year after what happened to Christy and her parents.
"Do you think the demons did this to her? She's had to have been alive this entire time, but I don't understand how. How could we have not known she was down here?" Phoebe gasped, shaking her head in complete disbelief.
"I don't think she's going to have the answer for us any time soon," Billie quipped.
Phoebe shot her a look.
"What?" Billie challenged, rolling her eyes. "It's true."
Pacing the length of the back wall, Prue also rolled her eyes. They were trying to remain discreet in their discussion; however, she could still make out some of what they were saying, and she knew it was about her. It's not like they were sharing spacious living quarters. "Um, excuse me?" she decided to cut in.
Phoebe, Paige, and Billie broke from the small huddle.
"I get this situation must be really weird for you, hell, it's absolutely mind boggling to me," Prue clapped her hands together. "But do you know what's even weirder? The fact that I'm practically standing in right front of you, and you think I can't hear everything you're saying."
Phoebe and Paige exchanged a look; Billie averted her attention back to Prue.
Prue let out a sigh born from her own frustration. "Look, if there's something you want to know then just ask me."
Next, all the women became prisoners to an eerie uncomfortable silence.
X
After the unexpected arrival of their guests, and Leo thought of them as guests in as loose a way as possible, he made his way over to sit on the living room couch. At this stage in the whole Elder game, Leo was adept at reading the body language and theirs definitely didn't bode well. Piper, on the other hand, made the decision to remain standing. There was no way she could just sit and relax when she felt this much on edge.
"I don't want to sit, so just spill it!" she demanded in an anxious manner. Piper couldn't handle the suspense. "Did something happen to my sisters? Or Billie? Because we need to find them now, I know they're in some kind of trouble."
"Well, what we have to say does involve them," Dimitri opened up the discussion before the much older looking Elder took over the conversation.
"Look, we don't have much time here, so I'm going to get straight to the point," the other Elder replied in a stern manner. "We have it on good authority that the Triad is back yet again and they're about to make their move for the Ultimate Power. If they succeed, evil will become unstoppable. The balance between good and evil will be thrown out of alignment permanently."
"Okay, so what would you like us to do about it?" demanded Piper, feeling irritated. "We already tried. The Power of Three doesn't have the power to stop them. They're unvanquishable and we don't even know what this Ultimate Power really is. Let alone who."
All three Elders looked to each other conspicuously.
Piper watched the hidden expressions pass between the three men before speaking up. "Okay! Hold it! What else is going on here?" she interrogated, her suspicions rising.
Dimitri was the first to respond. "Piper, the Power of Three may not be able to stop them - " he hesitated before finishing. "But the Power of Four can."
Piper scrunched up her face in confusion. "What Power of Four? There's no such thing!" she insisted. She turned to Leo for back up. "Leo? Tell him there's no such thing."
Leo stood to his feet, making his way over to stand beside his wife. His shook his head to let her know he felt just as in the dark as she did. He was curious to what this revelation might mean. Suddenly, his discussion with Dimitri at the Magic School less than a few hours ago flashed into his mind. The one that brought up both Prue and Paige. One very unbelievable thought entered his mind. But how could that be? As this possible news registered, he contemplated how his wife would handle the shock.
Piper turned back to address all the Elders. "Because you know what? Whoever they are, if they want our job, they can gladly have it!" she half-joked.
"Piper, it's you. You and your sisters are the Ultimate Power," Dimitri informed her as gently as possible. "All four of you."
There was a touch of sadness in the young Elder's voice because he felt a sudden empathetic pull towards the woman before him. He hadn't been around long enough to know the full extent of everything that had happened in the previous years, but he did understand that everything that was about to be revealed would be an emotional blow for everyone involved.
Piper stood there speechless, carefully absorbing the Elder's words. "Whoa! Wait a minute here!" she laughed. "Maybe all you guys are suffering from a classic case of visual impairment these days, because the last time I checked there were only three of us. So what the hell are you all going on about?"
"Your sister is still alive, Piper," interjected the third Elder, the last one who had accompanied both Dimitri and the second Elder to the manor. "That's what all this is about!" Up until now, he had remained fairly quiet, but he saw no point in delaying the inevitable.
It actually took a few moments for Piper to register what the Elder seemed to be implying. Finally, when it did, she went numb. If she could have stopped breathing, she probably would have. In light of what was inevitably coming, Piper found that she wanted to remain in ignorance for as long as humanly possible. It was the only way to put off confronting a harsh and hurtful truth.
Leo glanced over at his wife, awaiting her reaction.
"What sister are you talking about?" her eyes narrowed dangerously. "My sister better be alive. Both of them for that matter."
Deep down inside, Piper already knew what the answer was going to be. She dreaded any confirmation of it. Hearing her name spoken would be painful and make it all too real. This would just add to the list of lies compiling over the years. All that pain and suffering for nothing? Those times she spent mourning for a lost sister. The anger she felt at being abandoned by the one person she had depended on most of her life. They went ignored any time they even attempted to summon their oldest sister from the afterlife. How could any of this be happening?
"Prue," Dimitri verbally confirmed.
Piper closed her eyes. "Okay," she breathed out, taking some deep breaths back in.
"What?" the shock of the confirmation finally hit Leo next.
Piper Halliwell felt herself grow very faint. Thank god Leo was standing right beside her because she reached out to hold onto him for both emotional and physical support. He didn't disappoint her. Very willingly, he was prepared to reach out and steady her. She began trying to gather her rambling thoughts and to reel in her turbulent emotions.
"No!" came the denial. Piper shook her head at them. "I don't believe you. This is just cruel, even for you," her voice cracked with emotion.
"They're not lying about this," Dimitri looked between Piper and Leo. "I promise."
"Are you honestly trying to tell me that Prue is still alive?" her disbelief was shining through. Piper stared each Elder down.
"It's true, Piper. Your sister has been alive this entire time," the second Elder revealed to her. "She never died."
"Only at the moment, she has no recollection of her former life," the third Elder added. "No memory of being a Charmed One. She doesn't remember who she really is but we need to fix that before it's too late!"
"How?" Piper felt herself growing angry. "Why?" she demanded in a shaky voice.
Piper fought to keep the tears away. There were only so many secrets a person could handle in one day and this secret didn't even begin to make sense. Prue had died five years ago; Piper was sure of that. She could remember waking up after the attack, shaking her sister's very still form right next to her, and then breaking into a panic when Prue wouldn't wake back up. Leo had to pull her away from the body she had been in such hysterics.
Dimitri bowed his head down and allowed the senior Elders to take it from there. After all, he had only been told the truth and asked to come along because of his recent work-related connection to Leo. They figured it might help to soften the blow. However, the other reason was because this part of the story is where the other Elders were directly involved, not he. It was also the part he feared would be the most heartbreaking for Piper to have to hear.
"Where is she?" Piper's tone turned cold; her face hardened.
Leo decided to speak up next. "What I don't understand is how any of this is possible?" he came to his wife's defense. "I was there the day she died. I'm the one who couldn't heal her!"
Leo carried a lot of guilt on his own shoulders regarding Prue's death. Not only was she the first charge he had lost, but she had also been family. So, it had been a double blow to overcome. And now he was hearing that it had all been a lie? He started to feel his own anger boil.
"That's because you can't heal an illusion," the third Elder informed them with a stone-cold tone. He sounded void of any emotion, and it was his cavalier attitude regarding the seriousness of the situation that was starting to piss Piper off.
"Uh-huh!" Piper nodded. "And who exactly would you be again?" she demanded to know. She threw him her best glare.
"My name is Emeritus. I was one of the Elders who sat upon our council and decided your sister's fate. Although, I was not the head of the council at the time. That role was delegated to Gideon."
Both Piper and Leo felt an involuntary shudder pass through them at the mention of Gideon. At the same time, Leo also felt his anger rising closer to the surface just begging to be released. Gideon was a topic that was off limits for him.
"Gideon? What the hell does Gideon have to do with this?" Leo demanded, while desperately trying to keep his temper in check. He shook his head, laughing sardonically. "But why am I not surprised," he added.
"Now, Leo," the Elder admonished. "I realize that you and Gideon had your differences in the past, but he wasn't wrong about everything!"
Leo finally lost his temper. "Differences? The man tried to murder my son! He killed my other son from the future. And now you're here telling me that he's behind faking Prue's death too? What side are you guys on anyway?"
Piper reached out to calm her husband. "Honey, honey," she soothed, holding onto his arm. "I'm mad about it too but this isn't going to get us anywhere," she tried to reason.
Leo managed to slightly relax under her touch.
In a steady but firm tone, Piper readdressed the Elder. "Look! Gideon's dead now. I hold absolutely no regrets about it. So whatever else he did, we're all just going to have to deal with it. But so help me god if I have to stand here and listen to you say that faking Prue's death was for the greater good!" The words passing through Piper's lips were laced with venom and she glared at the Elder almost daring him to say it.
"Gideon may have done what he thought was for the greater good at the time but in the end it was your sister who agreed to it!" informed Emeritus, still void of any emotion whatsoever.
"Excuse me?" Piper challenged. She hadn't been expecting that come back.
X
Prue stood at the chamber door, carefully examining and inspecting every inch and detail of it. Using her fingers, she ran them up and down the sides, searching for any sign of weakness that could offer some hope of an escape. "There has got to be a way out of here," she mumbled.
Stubborn and persistent, observed Paige.
Phoebe, Paige, and Billie were all resting against the wall. They had all given up hope quite some time ago once they had realized using magic was out of the picture. Essentially, their only hope now lied with Piper but how soon would she figure out something was wrong and try to find them?
"Yeah, well, forget it!" Billie piped in. "If magic can't even save us from this literal hell hole, then - " but she let her sentence trail off as both Phoebe and Paige turned in her direction, casting her a stern look. It sent her a clear message: shut up. "Hey, come on now," defended Billie, good-naturedly. "If she doesn't know about the magic already, it's not like she won't eventually?"
Prue looked over at Billie, then the others. She carefully considered the young girl's choice of words: magic. She began to wonder if her ability to perform her little sideshow trick that night is what had gotten her into this whole mess. Were these women here for the same reason? Great, maybe she wasn't the only solo freak out there after all and they were all abducted for the same traveling circus act.
"Oh, Billie, that's not the point!" Phoebe sighed, while rolling her eyes and placing her head back against the wall.
"Well, then, what is?" argued Billie.
"The point is that we want to be sure," hissed Paige in a whisper.
Billie threw Phoebe and Paige a look of confusion.
Prue rolled her eyes before interjecting on the debating session that was clearly being held in her honor. "HEY! Relax," she conceded to the three women. "I get it, okay? You know, the whole magical hocus pocus deal? Now, can we just put our heads together to try and find a way out of here. Please?"
"Yeah, sure, good luck with that!" Paige gave her a dramatic nod.
Prue groaned, narrowing her eyes. Nice attitude, she thought. A lot of help they were going to be. Actually, if she wasn't already so preoccupied with trying to save her own life, and by extension theirs, she thought listening to their squabbling sessions might have gotten her through the boredom.
"See?" Billie shrugged her shoulders at the two sisters, amusement flowing through her voice. "She already knows."
Phoebe and Paige just turned to look at each other. It was something they had been forced to consider, begrudgingly on Phoebe's end, but still it had to be considered, nevertheless. And that was the possibility that the woman standing before them was the shape shifter. The same demonic shape shifter responsible for invading their attic that night and abducting Christy. Or rather, who they had believed to be Christy at the time. Now they suspected her of just being another shape shifter helping to spring a trap. What better way to pull them into a much deeper trap then to use their own dead sister against them. After all, they had already accomplished doing it with Billie.
"Okay, how is it that she remembers magic but not who she is?" Paige whispered to Phoebe.
Phoebe shrugged her shoulders not knowing what to say to that. It was a bit suspect, so she convinced herself that it was now or never, before she completely chickened out of doing it. Slowly, she pulled out one of the vials from her side pocket for Paige to view. Paige nodded her head in understanding as they prepared to do what they needed to do.
Prue was distracted and started banging on the door. "Hey!" she yelled. "Anybody out there? Hellooo? Look, we could really use a bathroom break in here?"
"Shut-up, WITCH!" came a demon's reply.
"Ooh, somebody woke up on the wrong side of hell this morning," mocked Prue. "Asking for some water probably won't go over any better," she turned back around, rolling her eyes. "I'll just make my way back and continue to dehydrate."
"I guess he sure told you!" Billie grinned then gave a power salute. She had to give 'Prue' props for trying and not letting discouragement get her down.
Prue smirked. "Guess I should have said please."
"Now!" shouted Paige.
At the sound of Paige's yell, both Prue and Billie turned their attention in the same direction as potion vials left the hands of both Phoebe and Paige and headed in Prue's direction. As they impacted her, she lit up in a pile of red dust and went into an immediate coughing frenzy. Desperately, she tried to wave the dust away from her face.
"What the hell was that for?" Prue demanded to know.
A hurt look spread across Billie's face.
Phoebe jumped up excitedly. She made another dash for Prue again. When she reached her, she embraced her in the second biggest hug of the day. "Oh, thank god!" Phoebe announced. "You're not a demon!"
Prue pushed her off, while brushing her clothes free from the red powdery dust. "No, of course I'm not a demon!" she yelled through more coughing spurts. "Where did you get that inane idea from?"
"Well, I, uh," Phoebe stuttered not knowing what to say to her.
"Yeah, where did you get the idea from?" Billie interrogated; her arms now crossed in a defensive posture. Up until now, Billie hadn't even known that the sisters had brought any potion vials along with them but what bothered her more than that was that there had been two. Not one, but two. Which meant, if the first one was intended for the shape shifter, who was the second one meant for? Christy?
Prue, Phoebe, and Paige all turned to look at Billie who was clearly upset. Prue didn't understand why but the other two women appeared to have an idea.
Phoebe slowly walked over to Billie. "Uh, sweetie, listen - " but she was interrupted by Billie.
"One of those bottles was going to be for Christy, wasn't it?" she demanded to know, getting straight to the point of what had her feeling on edge. Why had they kept it a secret from her?
"Yes. But it wasn't going to hurt her," defended Phoebe. "It was just a test. So, we'd know whether or not we were dealing with demons."
"Yeah. And if the potion did what it had done just now, we would have been sure she was human. That's all!" added Paige. She was now walking towards Billie too. "And with shape shifting demons changing to and from her form, it doesn't hurt to be too careful."
Billie shook her head, still feeling hurt that they had decided to deliberately keep her out of the loop. "Okay, so then why didn't you guys just tell me that? I don't understand. Why the big secret?"
Phoebe sighed before responding with the inevitable truth. She glanced over at Paige. No more secrets, she thought. Besides, Billie needed to be made aware of the truth. Which was that her sister was more than likely dead. "Because, Billie, we know how much finding Christy has meant to you and we didn't want you to get hurt. Not again and not after everything," she supplied.
Paige decided to jump in and support her sister in the truth. "Look, Billie, it's not that we didn't trust you. It's just that we think we're better equipped to handle this emotionally. Especially, since - " and Paige looked to Phoebe one last time before continuing. "We think Christy may have already been dead long before you even came looking for her last year."
"And the Christy who came back to you at your parents' house a couple weeks ago was another demon. We don't think you vanquished your sister. We think they're all shape shifting demons working for the Triad and their unknown member," concluded Phoebe.
Billie didn't say a word. With a reflection of sadness, she shot her gaze down towards the ground. It was something she had never considered before because back then she had been on this blind quest to find and rescue her sister, no matter the cost. But now, that conclusion actually made sense. Why would these demons, especially the Triad, have bothered to keep a mortal girl alive? She was useless to them. She was only the bait in getting to what they really wanted. Which was to draw Billie in to use her and her powers.
Phoebe chose her next words carefully because of Prue, who was standing right there with them. However, she wasn't sure it mattered much anyway considering the fact that she didn't appear to remember anything about her life. Still, Phoebe chose to err on the side of caution. She wasn't so sure this was the best time for such a revelation to slip, especially without Billie's consent. "Think about it sweetie," she prodded gently. "It makes the most sense, especially considering what you've just found out about yourself."
Billie took a quick glance in Prue's direction but opted to say nothing more on it. She didn't know when she would be ready for that conversation, but something told her that it most likely wouldn't be happening any time soon. Not when the woman remembered nothing about a daughter she had given away as a teenager. Remembered nothing of her own life. She didn't even remember anything about her own sisters or her former magical life.
Prue just observed quietly, feeling out of place in the current discussion; however, she did feel some compassion go out to the young girl and her situation.
X
Piper and the Elder stood face-to-face, each engaged in a glaring match.
"You're telling me that my sister agreed to leave her family and everything that mattered behind?" Piper challenged him. "Sorry, but I find that very hard to believe. In fact, I don't believe it!"
"It's true, Piper," Emeritus countered with an eerie calmness. "Prue agreed to all the conditions and then we gave her a new life."
"Wait a minute," Leo interrupted. "There's got to be more to it than that. I knew Prue well and for her to have just given up her life and the people that mattered to her so easily, there had to be a damn good reason," he declared. "Now back to this illusion you were talking about. What is it?"
"Well, essentially, it's exactly what it sounds like. It's a magical illusion, a type of warping against the mind if you will. You feel like what you are seeing and experiencing is so real but in reality, it's not real at all. We cast it just long enough to allow a funeral to transpire. Then we let it fade," the first Elder explained.
"So how does Prue fit into all of this?" Piper interrogated.
"Basically, the reality five years ago, after Shax had attacked you and your sister here in the manor, was that both of you were left on the brink of death. We would have lost two Charmed Ones that day, before Leo arrived back in time, had we not intervened and healed you," Emeritus shared.
"Hurry up and get to the point!" Piper fumed. Her patience was wearing thin.
Emeritus glared. "The point," he stressed, "is your deaths would have ended the Power of Three indefinitely. So, we couldn't let it happen. With Phoebe and Leo stuck in the Underworld after Tempus reset time, we healed the extensive damage in both you and Prue but left you behind, Piper. Leo was able to heal the minor damage left, but we took Prue with us and cast the illusion of her dead body before leaving."
"You - took - Prue - with - you?" Piper drew her words out slowly.
"Yes, that's what I just said!" the Elder gritted against his teeth.
"Why the hell would you do that?" she yelled. "I mean, how dare you take her away from us, away from all the people that she mattered to, without even letting us know that she was all right!"
"It was perfectly within our right to do what was necessary," Emeritus fired. "We weren't the ones who messed up and exposed magic!"
Piper made an aggressive move forward, but Leo pulled her back.
"Piper, don't, it's not worth it!" he warned.
Piper was desperately trying to keep her emotions in check while getting a grip on all of this information, but she found it increasingly impossible to do.
"Perhaps, it would be best if we just showed you," suggested Emeritus.
The Elder extended his hands which appeared to suggest she was supposed to take hold of them. Piper felt disgusted with the men standing in her living room. The last thing she wanted right now was to touch any of them for any reason whatsoever. However, she was torn between her feelings of resentment and her yearning to see the truth for herself. In the end, the latter won out as she slowly approached Emeritus, extending her own hands until they made contact with the Elder's. She turned her head around and shared one last look with Leo, who was standing behind her. He offered her a small nod and a sympathetic smile to let her know she had his full support and understanding. Piper then turned back around to face the Elder, took a deep breath, and closed her eyes. Without warning, her astral form was instantly pulled and transported to a different time but the same place.
The Halliwell Manor.
(Time Jump - Flashback 2001)
Piper Halliwell stood outside the front door to the Manor.
Everything appeared the same until she opened the door and walked in on Prue, Dr. Griffiths, and herself talking. Phoebe was nowhere in sight, but they appeared to be in a hurry, and they were attempting to warn the good doctor of his impending doom. However, he wasn't taking the matter seriously. In fact, he was laughing it off as if it were all some big joke.
"Okay, I know this all sounds incredible, but it doesn't make it any less true," came Prue's voice, addressing the doctor standing in front of her. "You're a healer, you do good, which means you've either saved too many lives or you're about to save a life they don't want you to save."
"Hello?" Piper hollered into the scene, waving her hands in the air as she walked into the foyer.
She was trying to grab their attention.
"People, you all need to get out of here, right now! Shax is going to be here any minute," she tried warning them. However, they continued on with what they were doing, not seeing nor hearing her.
"THEY?" Dr. Griffiths reiterated in disbelief.
"Yeah, demons, uh, more specifically Shax, who is the Source's assassin," explained Prue.
Piper looked over at herself from five years ago, standing by Prue, and letting her sister do all the explaining to the doctor. He probably thought they were out of their minds, Piper reflected.
"Okay, any second now, people!" she exclaimed, glancing at them one last time before looking back towards the front door. Then the unexpected sound of the doctor laughing brought her attention back.
"Oh, I get it! This is a practical joke, right? There's a hidden camera here?" the doctor rambled on, looking around at his surroundings. "My second wife put you up to this," he laughed.
"Hey! What are you laughing at, buddy? I'm trying to save your life here," Piper scolded. "All of you!"
She directed her words at the three of them, but her presence still went unnoticed. Weird, she thought. It must be like a virtual reality. I feel like I'm really here but I'm not able to participate in any of it.
Prue and Past Piper cast each other a look. Prue began shaking her head in rebuttal to Griffiths as the doctor carried on.
"Uh, it's just like her!" he continued laughing.
"Okay, Dr. Griffiths, listen to me, this is anything but a - " Prue started but was cut off as a chilling sensation entered the atmosphere.
She looked around her. Past Piper looked at her, questioningly, when she noticed her sister's expression.
"What?" came Past Piper's question.
"Uh," Prue stuttered before completing her thought. "I don't know, I just felt a chill, Phoebe?" she called out looking for her other sister.
There was no response.
"Phoebe, are you there?" she tried for a second time. Still, there was no response.
Suddenly, the front door to the manor swung open and a huge gust of wind, in the formation of a small tornado, burst through the door knocking both Prue and Past Piper to the ground.
Piper instinctively threw herself to the floor, momentarily forgetting that the conditions placed upon this time and space could not affect her. She wouldn't be harmed here. After looking up, she watched the rest of the horror play out before her.
"Phoebe, where are you?" hollered Prue for the last time. Prue looked up from the ground as the gust of wind transformed into Shax. He stood before the doctor who looked on in shock.
"Dear god!" the doctor exclaimed at the sight before him.
"NO!" Prue yelled, bolting from the floor and pushing the doctor out of harm's way.
"Prue, no!" pleaded Piper. "You can't stop him on your own!"
Prue always risked her life to save innocents but this time it was going to cost her. Piper had to close her eyes and turn her head as the scene continued to play itself out but not before she witnessed herself getting off the floor too.
The energy ball released from Shax's hand impacted Prue instantly and sent her flying through the wall and onto the ground. She had slammed her head against the hard floor in the process. Past Piper, witnessing Prue's assault, leapt from the ground intent on coming to her sister's defense. Instead, another energy ball made contact with her too, which sent her flying in the same direction as her sister. Through the wall and onto the debris.
Then Shax turned his attention back to the doctor who stood frozen in fear.
"What are you?" he exclaimed.
"The END!" replied Shax, sending the man hurdling to his death, straight through the window.
Then Shax exited the manor in the same fashion he entered, in a swirl of heavy wind, slamming the front door shut as the broken shattered glass flew everywhere.
Piper reopened her eyes and took in the mass destruction surrounding her. She jumped at the sight of the doctor, lying through the window, bloodied but clearly dead. She turned away and slowly headed in the direction where she and her sister lay dying, waiting for rescue. Suddenly, Piper halted her steps when a flurry of orbs appeared in the manor. They appeared just before the damaged wall where her past self and Prue had made impact.
"Leo!" she burst out. Leo had been her natural assumption upon seeing those orbs. After all, his face had been the one she had first seen upon her waking. She resumed her steps but stopped abruptly when she saw who it really was that orbed into the manor.
"Gideon?" she seethed.
There, in the manor, stood Gideon beside Emeritus. One of the Elders who had come to the Manor to deliver the shocking news regarding the real outcome of this day. She watched as Emeritus knelt beside her own body, allowing the all too familiar healing energy to flow from his hands while Gideon performed the same healing over Prue. Then both Elders stood back up.
"Come, we don't have much time!" came Gideon's urgent response.
Emeritus bent down as he was about to pick up Past Piper's body.
"No! Not that one!" corrected Gideon. "The other one," he replied, nodding in Prue's direction.
Emeritus moved to the side of Prue, picking up her unconscious form.
Piper, witnessing the event, stepped forward in a bold attempt at an intervention. "Hey! What do you think you're doing with her?" she demanded. "Put my sister down!"
However, the scene and all its players continued on, completely oblivious to Piper and her words of protest.
Piper watched as Gideon pulled his hand out of a small bag, releasing a sparkly dust that slowly permeated through the air. It transformed into a sparkling energy that glided over the walls and made its way through the entire manor. She watched in horror as the sparkling energy created an illusionary clone of her sister in the empty space once occupied by her, but now in Emeritus' arms.
Then, without warning, all three of them orbed out of the manor.
Just as Piper stepped forward to intervene, she was blinded by a flashing white light which took her astral form to new surroundings. She no longer stood in the manor.
Piper stood in a bright place. It was unfamiliar and definitely not part of the mortal world. She looked around and could suddenly make out her sister's unconscious form starting to wake.
"Prue?" Piper called out in her sister's direction. Seeing her sister alive again after all this time felt surreal. She started walking towards her but halted her movements when she remembered it would do her no good. She was simply here to observe.
Prue moaned and then brought her hand to the back of her head. "Where am I?" she called out into the bright arena.
The light bordered on blinding.
"Piper? Dr. Griffiths?" Prue's voice echoed around her, but she heard no response back.
"Prue, can you hear me," Piper called out. She knew it was in vain because her sister would not be able to hear her.
Another voice could be made out in the distance, though. Piper recognized it; it was a voice that now made her cringe.
Gideon.
"Hello, Prue," came his greeting as he emerged from the light.
Prue bolted up at the sight of the man before her. She tensed but relaxed when she took notice of his attire. An Elder, she had concluded with evident relief. She continued to take in her surroundings. "Where am I?" she asked him.
"Well, that depends on your point of view," declared Gideon, remaining vague as ever. "Some would call it heaven. A better place. I'm Gideon, by the way," came his introduction.
"Gideon?" Skepticism invaded Prue's senses.
"Yes," he nodded. "You may not remember me but I certainly remember you," he smiled. "The Charmed Ones." He paused. "We met when you were just little girls," he shared. "Your Grams introduced us when we would check in on occasion," came his cryptic explanation.
"You knew Grams?"
"Certainly."
"Wait a minute!" Prue interjected, suddenly feeling a bit overwhelmed. "Why are we talking about my Grams?" Her Grams was dead. Prue suddenly re-evaluated her surroundings. The bright atmosphere took on a new meaning for her. "Am I in the afterlife? Am I dead?" she felt the panic trying to grab a hold of her but forcefully pushed it down.
Gideon smirked. "Ah, yes, that's right. You were never the sister to beat around the bush, were you?" he stated in amusement. He then turned serious. "But to answer your question, no. You're not dead, Prue, but you are standing in the middle of what some would call an afterlife," he quelled her immediate fear.
Prue sighed in relief. "Thank god."
As she visibly relaxed, Gideon took a moment to decide how he wanted to break the ice with her on why she was here.
After a moment, Prue's last coherent memories finally hit her full force. "Oh my god! Piper? Phoebe?" her eyes shot open. "They're not dead - " but her query was interrupted by Gideon.
"No, Prue, relax. Your sisters are alive and well. For the moment," he slipped in.
Prue immediately caught the hidden insinuation. Her features turned dark as her protective streak broke through. "What's that supposed to mean?" she demanded.
"It means that if you don't agree to help us, then one of your sisters may have to die," he admitted. "It's not what we want to see happen but some unforeseen circumstances that were wrongfully created must now be corrected."
Prue shook her head in confusion, not comprehending what the hell this Elder was rambling on about. Unforeseen circumstances wrongfully created; she repeated in her mind. What did that even mean? More importantly, what did any of this have to do with her or her sisters?
"The Underworld is now actively seeking a power of ultimate proportions. They have been for some time but it's also a destructive power that was never meant to be," Gideon explained to Prue. "It's a power that can be wielded to obliterate all good, shift the delicate balance forever, if evil were to get its hands on it!"
Prue considered this but was still at a loss for why this involved her. "Okay, so what does any of this have to do with me or my sisters?"
"Because your long-lost sister is the final link that will make this power whole," he announced.
Piper absorbed the full meaning behind Gideon's admission. "Wait, what?" she exclaimed. They had lied to her. And Leo. And Phoebe. The Elders had lied to them when they claimed to have known nothing about the half-witch half-whitelighter before Prue's death.
Why would they have done this?
She stood watching for her sister's reaction to the news.
"What?" Prue exclaimed in disbelief.
Gideon stared her down. "I said your missing sister will be the key to releasing this very dangerous power."
"I don't have any missing sister," Prue denied the revelation. "There's only Piper and Phoebe. What kind of game are you trying to play?" Alarm bells were going off for her. She backed away from Gideon suddenly not feeling comfortable in this Elder's presence.
"No games, Prue," Gideon remained calm and collected. "What I am telling you is the truth."
"Send me back home. Now!" Prue ordered.
Gideon turned around and instead of doing as she requested, he moved his hand and produced a miniature sized crystal globe in the palm of his hand. Pictures came to life within it and he turned back around so Prue could see.
"What is that?"
"Watch and you'll see," he instructed.
With much reluctance, Prue watched the pictures start to pass by. There was a crying baby. A nun was holding this child trying to comfort it. Then the globe showed images of a young raven-haired girl, much like herself, dancing in the middle of a dance floor. She appeared so free, closing her eyes and rolling her head back as she swayed to the beat of the music.
Was that P3?
Then the scene quickly changed. All four sisters were sharing a moment around the Book of Shadows. The new young witch looked petrified at what she was about to do, vanquish her first demon.
The light coming from the crystal globe dimmed out until all the images just faded away into blackness.
Gideon sighed. "So, once again, let me assure you this is no game," he stressed. "In approximately a month's time, you and your two sisters were foreseen to have met her and thus, would have completed a circle to produce an Ultimate Power. A power way too dangerous, forever putting an end to the Power of Three," he explained in detail. "We can't risk evil getting a hold of this!"
"Dangerous?" Prue interrogated. "Why?"
"An unnatural concentration of power," Gideon kept it vague.
Prue shook her head; denial was setting into the pit of her stomach. There's no way, she thought to herself, thinking about the girl she had just seen. Mom never would have kept a secret that big. Would she have? And what of this mysterious power that the Elder appeared so threatened by? Why did this girl worry him so much?
"What do you mean that it was foreseen?" Prue questioned him. He had spoken in a past tense as if this meeting had already been averted?
"It means that I'm asking you to help us preserve the Power of Three and to serve the greater good. Which also means one sister needs to be taken out of the equation," he hinted.
"You want to keep me here?" Prue felt stunned.
"Hardly," Gideon denied. "It just means we could have left one of you to die but we'd rather accomplish this without a loss of life involved, if at all possible. Therefore, if you insist on being reunited with your sisters now, I can't promise you that one of your sisters will be around for the future."
Prue narrowed her eyes. A rush of immense anger hit her full force. Was he actually threatening the life of one of her sisters if she didn't do what he wanted? Her thoughts returned to the innocent girl in the globe and then she also felt a sudden rush of guilt and some sympathy for her. If it was true, it wouldn't be fair to hold her accountable to a life she knew nothing about. Why should she have to die? But one thing was for certain. There was no way in hell she was letting Piper or Phoebe go down for this.
"Don't ever threaten my sisters," Prue warned the Elder. "You'll find out rather fast that I won't make the best ally."
"It is not I who is the threat, Prue," he refuted with intensity. "If I was, do you think I would be standing here asking for your help?"
"Help for what exactly?" Prue pressed the Elder for better clarification. "To stop some unknown power that would destroy everything if this girl and I were ever to meet?" She was growing more suspicious. He wasn't offering much. "Help you so that none of us will die? None of this makes any sense."
What was his motive or agenda with this?
"Help to keep the greater good in balance and to protect the Power of Three!" Gideon tried not to raise his voice. "Protecting the Power of Three means protecting your sisters. All of them."
"How does me not returning home help the Power of Three? And how do I know this other sister even really exists?" Prue argued. "I want Mom or Grams to confirm this before I listen to anything else you have to say."
Gideon considered the proposal. "Very well," he relented.
Prue watched as Patty and Grams were summoned. They formed from the bright light surrounding them. She rushed forward and embraced both of them.
Piper looked on. Shocked.
"Mom. Grams," she muttered at the sight of them. A feeling of betrayal pierced her heart. Were they part of the lie?
"Hello, my darling," Grams exclaimed, holding on tightly to her eldest granddaughter. "It's so good to see you."
After Prue broke from the hug, she took notice of how her mother's eyes had filled with unshed tears. Patty took full responsibility on her shoulders for the predicament her daughters now found themselves in and the sacrifice her eldest was now going to be asked to make.
Patty took Prue's hands into her own. "Oh Prue," she choked out.
The look coming from her mother was all the confirmation Prue really needed. "So, it's true then. The other girl is real?"
"Yes," sobbed Patty. "I'm so sorry, Prue. I never wanted this for any of you. For you girls to get caught in the middle like this. That's why I gave her away. I hoped she could have a safe life, a normal life, away from the kind of life that you and your sisters were destined to have. But if this is the only way to keep you all alive - " she trailed off.
"Mom?" Prue choked, feeling a sting of betrayal at this being kept from them for all these years.
Grams jumped to Patty's defense. "Your mother didn't come to this decision all on her own," she told Prue. "I insisted it was for the best. Sometimes we do have to make hard decisions that are for the greater good. I hope you can understand that one day," a look of regret passed from Grams to Prue.
For the briefest of moments, Prue thought Grams might be speaking beyond any arrangement Gideon was trying to rope her into.
"I don't understand why this other girl is such a threat? What kind of power could be that dangerous?" Prue was looking for more forthcoming answers, hopefully from her mother and the former Halliwell Matriarch.
Grams hesitated. "Uh, not so much a threat, dear," Grams looked to Patty, "but rather more of an obstacle to the Charmed destiny - " she trailed off, taking quick glances over at Gideon, to watch for how closely their discussion was being monitored.
Prue caught it. Was her Grams intimidated by the Elder?
Patty put up her hand to signal Penny. "Mother, it's okay, I got this." She sighed. "Prue, her very existence goes against the rules. Her father was a whitelighter. Her birth, the birth of a fourth sister, disrupts the destiny for the Power of Three."
"Oh." Prue didn't know what to make of that. "But Piper and Leo?"
"An exception to the rule; a decision that wasn't reached lightly," Grams intervened, "nor without its share of hardship," she reminded her.
"The Elders believe that some of the magical attempts on your lives, where you or your sisters died before being brought back," Patty continued, "is a part of the grand design's way of trying to right the path for the Charmed destiny, the Power of Three."
"By taking one sister out of the equation," Prue muttered, repeating the very words spoken by Gideon only moments ago. "So there's only three of us."
"Yes," Patty confirmed. "And the Elders fear if the four of you get together, the attempts will only increase until finally one of you are - gone."
"Dead." Prue wasn't afraid to say it.
Prue had listened to her mother with a heavy heart, but she was still confused as to why they were going along with all of this so easily. Did they know more about this mysterious power than what they were actually saying? Did they really believe the Power of Three, and her sisters, were in danger? Why had Gideon allowed her to confront her mother and Grams? Was he already anticipating this ahead of time? Did they all discuss this plan of action before she was brought here? The sorrow was written across her mother's face. Grams even appeared a bit sad. This made Prue feel stuck between a rock and a hard place. Slowly, she turned back around to face Gideon, who was waiting quite patiently in the background.
"If I agreed to it, hypothetically speaking," Prue stressed quite strongly, "what would this mean for me?" she looked to the Elder.
Piper jerked her head back to her sister. "Prue?" her tone reflected the disapproval she was feeling.
Gideon began pacing with his hands behind his back. "Well, we would grant you a whole new life of course," he insisted. "But a mortal life. And you wouldn't remember anything about who you were or anything about magic."
"But what if the Underworld finds me or comes after me?" argued Prue. "I wouldn't be able to defend myself without my powers."
"Without your powers, the Underworld will be unable to sense you, track you," Gideon insisted. "However, in the slightest of chances that it does happen, the Elders put it to a vote, and we decided that you would be granted limited access to them if an emergency situation should arise but that will be it. You will not be able to access it in any other way!"
Prue sighed heavily as she turned back to face both her mother and Grams. "But I can't just leave them without giving an explanation first," she insisted.
Piper's eyes watered. Prue was actually going to do this?
Grams glanced nervously in Gideon's direction before addressing her granddaughter. She shook her head sadly. "I'm sorry, Prue, but you won't be able to see them once you agree to this. And if they summon me, or your mother," she turned to look at Patty "and ask for you, I'll be forced to tell them the same thing. They won't be able to see you or talk to you."
"They're going to think I'm dead, aren't they?" Prue asked, craving confirmation. She closed her eyes when she put the pieces together. That was the only logical conclusion. Shax? The attack? Her sisters would believe it.
"Sacrifices sometimes have to be made, even if it means cutting the ties that bind," Gideon delivered his speech to her. "For everyone's sake."
Prue threw him an odd look.
"Your sisters will be safe, Prue," Patty tried to reassure her daughter. "They should be able to carry on the Charmed destiny with Paige."
"Paige?"
"Your sister," Patty gave a sad smile. Her eyes shone with more unshed tears.
"No, you mean my replacement," Prue looked away. That realization stung a little bit.
"Never!" Patty denied rather firmly. "Prue, you don't have to do this. Not for me. I won't be upset."
Prue smiled. Her mother would never know how much she appreciated the reassurance. She closed her eyes, regret filling her. By agreeing to this, she realized it would be the last time she would ever remember having Patty as her mom or being raised by her Grams. She would completely forget her sisters. The tradeoff seemed completely unfair, a new magic free existence but without her memories and in exchange for giving up everyone that ever mattered to her for the greater good. Well, at least there seemed to be one consolation in all this, Prue reflected. She would be saving all their lives. That's what Prue Halliwell did best as a Charmed One, saving innocents, so her sisters would be the last 'innocents' to keep safe. No better way to go out.
"You'll check in on them?" Prue asked of her mom and Grams. "A lot?"
"Does this mean you're agreeing to it?" Gideon cut in, craving his own confirmation.
Prue looked between her mother and her Grams. They nodded their answer to her then she shifted her focus back to the Elder. She released a deep sigh, closed her eyes, and then pleaded into the heavens for Piper and Phoebe to forgive her.
"Yes!" she finally agreed. The tone was firm and stern. There was a touch of regret mixed in too. Prue felt a strong dislike for the Elder standing before her because of this position she felt maneuvered and forced into. Her intuitive hit was that this move had been planned for some time.
Piper was angry. "Prue? What the hell are you doing?" she shouted out, even though she knew Prue wouldn't hear her. "This isn't okay."
All her life she had looked up to her big sister as the stronger one. The one that led the way for them, and they had always taken it for granted. So, this is what now angered her. She was seeing Prue's weakness for what it was, would always be. Them. Her sisters. Gideon had stepped right up and had taken full advantage of it. She never thought she could hate him anymore than she already did.
Grams looked on sorrowfully, while her mom closed her eyes releasing her tears. She reached out her arms to embrace her daughter for the final time. Prue accepted, as she felt her own emotions well up, as the reality of what she just agreed to finally settled in. Her own tears fell.
"Good!" Gideon smirked.
Prue wiped at her eyes, refusing to look at the Elder. She wasn't one to flaunt her emotions so openly. "Let's just get this over with."
Gideon promptly summoned a mirror which suspended itself in the air. The oval shaped portal opened up.
"Now, since you've so graciously embraced serving the greater good," he announced, "say hello to your new future." Gideon waved his hand and through the mirror portal a swirl of orbs got sucked through which then transformed into a man. This man looked around feeling confused by his new surroundings until he caught sight of the Elder before him.
"What happened? Why am I here?" the man asked.
"You are such a bastard," Piper seethed at Gideon.
Not only had this Elder tried to rob her of her son, but he had stolen her sister. However, before she could reflect any more on Gideon, she spotted the man who had been summoned before them. It was a face she hadn't seen in years yet someone she knew all too well.
Prue locked eyes with the man who suddenly appeared. "Andy?"
"Prue?" He couldn't hide his surprise.
Prue threw Gideon an uncertain look. Was this even real?
Andy smiled at the sight of the woman he had loved but lost. He also thought he wouldn't see her again for a very long time. Not until she had already lived a full life, married, went on to have kids, and then reached old age with grand kids to show for. He certainly wasn't complaining about seeing her so soon but why was she here?
"How? - " Andy began to question.
Prue's emotions got the better of her. Andy was standing there a few feet away from her in the flesh and she was about to lose everything. So she ran towards him and into his open arms. While holding on as tight as she could, she began to cry, sobbing into his shoulder. Then everything went black for her, for Andy, and for Piper, who had stood watching the whole scene.
Piper was pulled back into her own reality; she was pulled back to the present.
(Time Jump Flashback Ends)
Piper felt dizzy as she backed away from the Elder.
Her husband rushed forward to support her. She felt completely emotionally overwhelmed by what she had witnessed. She looked back and forth between her husband and the Elders with a forlorn expression on her face.
"Piper, what did you see?" Leo pushed. Her sudden reaction shocked him.
"I don't want to see anymore!" she choked out, covering her mouth with her hand.
She ran for the stairs.
A stunned Leo was left standing inside the living room without her.
To Be Continued: Phew. That's all I have to say, lol. This chapter literally drained me so I hope that it was up to your expectations. I know it was long but I just didn't think it was right to cut it off until I did. I'm going to take a rest before I start the next chapter, but there should still be another one ready in a few days. Thanks to all my readers/reviewers for taking the time to follow this story. It motivates me to give you more.